Familiar Love
by Heritor
Summary: Unusual visitors arrive at the Great Valley... The son of an old sharptooth seeks vengeance... A mysterious fastbiter invasion comes to an old face's new home... And an assassin is changed by a young girl... All of these show the power of- familiar love.
1. Wishful Thinking under a Starry Sky

**Familiar Love**

How much will you find?

**Prologue: Wishful Thinking under a Starry Sky**

The bright circle is so vibrant and beautiful. Its rays shine down in golden glory, warming body and soul and lighting the way to paths of a bright future. While some call it yellow and hot, those of clear vision can perceive its true nature as hope and safety. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, so it was perfectly clear outside. Few sleep while the bright circle has its shift in the sky with its radiant splendor that reigns down each waking moment. Too bad it wasn't out though.

The time was night, and all was dark save what little light the sky ornaments shared to the earth below. There was barely any wind, and it was sporadic, blowing on occasion without a pattern. The grass therefore rippled as randomly as the waves of the ocean, and the tree branches and bushes trembled even more so. The Great Valley was very quiet outside of the wind's targets, and nearly everyone was sound asleep. A few grownups were snoring, but few could tell unless they were very close, and almost no nests came anywhere near each other. Two figures, however, were not only away from their nests but very much awake, yet they were not having any trouble getting to sleep. They simply weren't ready yet.

"Wow. There sure are a lot of stars out tonight, grandpa." Littlefoot was lying beside his grandfather on some grass at the foot of a small hill, close enough that they shared the warmth of their bodies and the love in their hearts. He looked up in awe as he did every night when the sky was littered with gems, filling it with glowing magnificence.

"There certainly are, Littlefoot," his grandpa replied, nodding in agreement as he glanced down at him with a grin.

"I wonder what they're all for. I mean, they don't really give enough light to be very helpful like the bright and the night circle." He kept looking up, admiring the little lights and then finally glanced at his grandfather in hopes that he had a response.

"That's true. I can't say I know what the stars in the sky are for, but mysteries like this are what make life exciting. If we knew everything, where would the fun be?" He continued to smile at his grandson and only when their eyes broke apart did he too look high into the night.

"I hadn't thought of that," Littlefoot replied as he pondered it for a while, face clearly showing his concentration.

His grandfather chuckled at this and added, "By the way, there is an old story my grandpa told me about a special kind of star."

"Ooh, really? What's the story? I didn't know there are different kinds of stars." He nearly got to his feet in excitement but managed to stay nestled on the ground. He eagerly awaited what his grandfather would say next.

"We see stars staying in place all the time, but there are a few that fly through the sky. They're called shooting stars. Legend has it that if someone was to see one and makes a wish before anyone else who saw it does, that wish will come true," he explained while adding enough drama to his tone to truly make the account suspenseful.

"Wow…" came Littlefoot's amazed reply with eyes open wide.

Littlefoot's grandfather chuckled once again and replied, "Of course, like the Lone Dinosaur, it's just a legend, a story passed down to entertain the young ones."

"So you're sure it isn't true?" he asked his grandfather with a mix of hope and potential disappointment.

"Well, I can't deny I have my doubts about getting a wish granted, but it certainly is exciting to imagine, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, for sure," he agreed quickly.

Suddenly considering both the time and what Littlefoot's grandmother might think if she knew they were out here this late, he announced, "Well, it's getting late. Time for sleep." And with that, he scooted his grandson gently with his head over to their nesting area.

Littlefoot turned twice, yawning as he did so, and then lied down to rest. His grandpa walked over to his mate and began to snooze as well, making sure not to wake her. At last, all the dinosaurs of the Great Valley were getting their much-needed sleep, but that wouldn't last for long…

**Later that night…**

A dragonfly flew about the Great Valley. It passed threehorns, swimmers, and more kinds as he sought a place to rest. Finally, he landed- right on Littlefoot's nose. Looking about and not moving from his spot, the insect got comfortable. However, the tickling of his little wings and the slight pressure on the longneck's face made him awake after only a few moments. With a sudden jerking of Littlefoot's head in surprise, the bug quickly took off again to find a safer place to rest. The young boy took one more look at the beautiful, starry sky then closed his eyes, yawning as laid his tired body down. Suddenly, they opened wide. He was too drowsy to have noticed it right away, but before he had tried to sleep again, it had dawned on him that he had seen something moving up in the sky.

He got to his feet and looked upward once again with excitement. His mouth was agape as he gazed at a star shooting through the air. What a coincidence to have seen one already, he thought to himself. He had to make a wish before anyone else saw it! He prepared to speak, but his throat seemed to have stopped working for a moment. His eagerness was overwhelming, but he finally settled himself down enough to talk.

"Um, shooting star, I wish for-" he paused, eyes suddenly looking down as he tried ever so quickly to think of something he wanted. He was very happy, so it took him a little while, but at last, he knew what his heart desired. "My mother died a lot sooner than she should have, and I miss her a lot. I wish that my young mother was alive right now."

He finished his request just as the star was flying over the outside of the valley. He gazed around him, expecting his mom to suddenly appear nearby. Would she be behind him? He quickly turned around. Maybe beside his grandparents? His eyes darted to where they slept. At the main entrance to the Great Valley? With great speed, he hurried to the opening that visitors most used to enter. Alas, no one came into view.

"I guess- I guess it really is just a legend," he said to himself sadly, tail between his legs and head and eyes to the ground. He walked back to his nest slowly with a great sense of disappointment looming around him. When he got back to his sleeping place, he didn't bother turning a few times before lying down. He just plopped onto his belly and went to sleep.

**Chapter End**

"Hey, guys. It's the number one threehorn in the Great Valley, Cera. I just thought you guys could use a little preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love, and with my smarts, I'm the best one for the job! So anyway, some good friends decide to leave for a while, and I'm really going to miss them, hard as that is to admit. I'm especially worried about Petrie though. Is he being led into danger?"


	2. Leaving

**Chapter I: Leaving**

The residents of the Great Valley turned their heads in the direction of the thundering footsteps. They were coming inside at a slow pace, and a sense of familiarity was interwoven deeply into the oncoming rumbles of the earth. Various adults turned from their grazing, glancing in the visitors' direction as children stopped playing to get a better look as well. The bright circle hung high overhead, old Mr. Threehorn let out a heavy sigh and went back to his food, and Spike grinned from ear to ear as he stopped splashing about with his sisters and galloped to the Great Valley's entrance. The spiketail herd, the one that came during the valley's first cold time, was back to rest during their farwalking. They walked in a single-file line, dust scattering into the air with each stomp of their strong feet.

"Spike!" a voice from the crowd called out jovially. A tiny, reddish spiketail emerged from beside his mother and ran towards him. When they caught up with each other, the little one reared up and wrapped his front legs around his old friend's neck, both of them smiling merrily. Tippy's mother glanced over at the two boys but kept moving along with the herd. She was very tired as were the other grownups after their long trek. She would have said hello like her son did, but she lacked his energy since he rode most of the way. However, Spike and Ducky's mother did come over to greet her. They hadn't known each other long enough to really say they were friends, but mama swimmer could at least call her a friendly acquaintance.

"Welcome back, Mrs. Spiketail," she said with a smile as she approached.

"Thank you," she replied wearily as she turned, eyes lighting up at the warm reception. "We're glad to be back. Although, we won't be here for very long. Just stopping for a safe rest and for some food and water. We'll be gone in just a few hours."

Spike moaned, causing both mothers to turn to him, but his reaction came as a surprise to neither of them. He obviously wanted more time with his friend, as they see each other very little but love each other very much. The two females looked at him then each other sadly.

"Spike has missed you guys a lot," his mother said, and she ended her comment slowly, as if something was occurring to her. She paused for a few moments, curling her index finger into her thumb and raising her hand to her chin. She seemed distant but finally asked in a semi-reluctant voice, "Spike, would you like to stay with them for a while?" Spike looked confused, so she elaborated, "As in, travel with them when they leave?" Both boys' eyes widened, and Tippy's mother was shocked.

"You mean, you'd let Spike travel with us for a time?" she asked her. She could barely believe she was hearing this after what happened last time her herd was here. She obviously didn't want to lose Spike, so why would she make such an offer?

"Again, Spike has missed Tippy since he left, and there is safety in numbers, after all, so I know he'd be well cared for. Kids can really use a change of scenery at times. And like you said last time you were all here, 'It would be nice if he saw how his own kind lived.' What do you say, Spike? Would you like to go with them as they farwalk for a while?"

Spike looked excited and stomped his front two feet, but then he settled down and looked nervous at Ducky. He whimpered a little bit because he knew that spending time with his missed friend would result in missing his sister. It was a gain for a loss, so he had mixed feelings. Ducky walked over to them slowly then looked at her brother, then Tippy, then her mama for a few seconds in silence. She had heard the whole thing. She knew as well that Spike would love to spend time with not only one of his best friends but an entire herd like him, but she didn't want to be without him. More importantly, she knew also that he did not want to be without her. Ducky came right beside her brother and placed a hand on his head gently. She no longer seemed dismayed, however. Her melancholy expression had been replaced with one of determination.

"Do not worry, Spike. I will be fine." Spike looked up at her, both relieved and worried, but then she added in an excited, high-pitched voice, "Because I am going with you!" The two mothers suddenly exchanged glances then looked at her in surprise, and the little swimmer added, "Where Spike goes, I go." Ducky's mother thought it over.

"Would you mind if Ducky went too?" she asked Tippy's mother, but her voice was more casual than anything. There was no anxiety in her request. She hadn't known her long, but she knew that this spiketail was a true mother.

"Why of course not! I wouldn't want to separate them for an instant. I know how close they are," she replied right away.

"Woohoo!" Ducky exclaimed. "I am going to go tell Littlefoot and the others good-bye. I will be right back." The two parents chatted a bit, mostly Ducky's mother explaining some important details about her kids just to be safe, as the little swimmer went to find her friends. She had heard them laughing while she was splashing about with her siblings, so she had a pretty good idea where they were. It didn't take long for her to spot them, Littlefoot, Cera, and Petrie, playing tag in a clearing with little grass and trees and explain her plans.

"If you'd rather spend your time with a herd of old spiketails than with us, fine! I don't need you around anyway." Cera seemed not only genuinely angry but offended as well. She turned up her nose, faced Ducky with her back, and plopped her rear end onto the ground with a thud.

"Cera…" Ducky trailed off sadly, her eyes moving from the threehorn to the ground. Cera made no noise or movement for nearly a minute then slowly turned her head in the swimmer's direction. She seemed like she wanted to speak, but her pride is a powerful inhibiter. Still, Cera was stronger.

"I- I'm going to miss you," she admitted at last, looking at Ducky. Her expression had changed from frustration to sadness, and Ducky came forward and hugged her leg.

"That's the Cera I know. Yes, I am going to miss you too, I am, I am."

Petrie, who had been silent up to this point, suddenly starting crying like a hatchling, and Ducky hugged him as well. Littlefoot smiled at Ducky and motioned for her to come for a farewell hug as well, but his expression seemed distant, as he looked at her but through her too, and she took notice of it.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Huh?" he replied at once, jerking his head slightly as he had just woken up. After he said that though, he realized what she had said without her needing to repeat it. "I'm sorry," he told not just her but everyone there. "I've just been thinking."

"About what?" Petrie asked, flying up and landing on his head.

"It's nothing, really. Just a star I saw last night," he replied casually, not wanting to go into detail. He attempted to seem just fine, but he would have been more successful without the effort. Something was clearly bothering him, so the others exchanged glances.

"Wow, you saw something that appears every night in the sky. Fascinating," Cera said sarcastically, breaking the silence. Littlefoot rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Ducky cut in, "I want you all to know that I will miss you greatly." Ducky wanted to be ready when the time came, so she began walking back to where her mother was talking, and the others followed her in silence. They arrived back near the entrance to see that the conversation between her and Tippy's mother was still going on. The tall grass and shade from the scattered trees gave plenty of comfort to endure a long chat.

"How long before you get back to the valley?" Ducky's mother was asking as Tippy continued chasing Spike nearby.

"Not very long. We plan to return shortly after we've spent some time in Berry Valley," the spiketail mother replied. She said "Berry Valley" with an alluring emphasis, so it was clear that she enjoyed berries very much, possibly the entire herd.

"Berry Valley?" Littlefoot asked in surprise as his eyes widened.

"Oh, you know about it?" the spiketail asked.

"You could say that," Cera replied with a smirk, pawing at the dirt and thinking back.

"We hear the berries there are just perfect this time of the year, and the place is just beautiful," Tippy's mother explained dreamily. They all wanted to talk more. Ducky's mother wanted to explain more about her kids' welfare, and the spiketail mama wanted to talk about Berry Valley to a greater extent, but they were sadly cut short. Everyone present turned when they heard a single set of heavy footsteps approaching.

"Come on, let's go," the herd leader ordered with a snarl as he walked past them.

"What!" Tippy's mother asked in surprise. "You said we'd be here for a few hours."

"Yeah, well, that old threehorn fellow seems to have other plans," he growled with a look of disgust. His patience was clearly gone but his weariness remained well in supply.

Littlefoot, Ducky, and Petrie instinctively glanced at Cera without moving their heads, and she sighed with irritancy. Her father could really embarrass her no matter how much she loved him. She enjoyed his tough demeanor, but she wished he'd be nicer sometimes. Or better yet, all the time. Pairing up with Tria hadn't change him all that much around others.

"Next time your herd decides to gobble down our tree sweets, consider asking!" Mr. Threehorn bellowed, interrupting his daughter's thoughts as she made a small noise from her mouth. "Now go before I run you out!" He stomped his foot in the dirt to emphasis his point, even though he had no intention of getting physical.

The spiketail leader rolled his eyes, moved his mouth up and down to mock his aggressor without him seeing it, and then assembled his herd. They gathered in a line efficiently but slowly, and Ducky hopped on top of Spike who fell in place with them. Together, they all began marching towards Berry Valley, Ducky waving back until they were out of sight completely from the ground.

Petrie flew up and out the valley to see them off for a ways further, stared at his departing friends longingly, and then began his sad, slow descent to the ground. He was so distracted by how much he knew he'd miss Ducky and Spike that he didn't even realize he wasn't moving towards his friends but instead an isolated corner of the valley. Suddenly, the daylight on him was blocked, but he just assumed it was a cloud and kept moving. The shadow, however, seemed to approach him as he continued landing, so he finally glanced up and let out a startled cry at the unidentified silhouette of another flier.

"Ah, Petrie. How good it is to see you once again," a familiar voice spoke to him quietly.

It took Petrie a few moments to recognize the voice. It wasn't that the familiarity of it proved difficult to recall but rather that he doubted his own senses. Who he believed owned that voice seemed so unlikely that the possibility of it barely registered in his mind until the grand dialogue and smoothness of tone made the owner of it undeniable. They both hovered beneath the canopy of a clump of coconut trees.

"U-uncle Pterano? What you doing here? It not been five cold times," he stammered, not unhappy to see his relative, just worried what would happen if he was caught.

"Precisely, dear boy. That is why I am speaking quietly," he replied dryly, not out of distaste for his nephew's concern but instead that he was getting impatient for his banishment to end. The Mysterious Beyond was lonely.

"Oh, right," his nephew replied in a sheepish tone.

"I have been keeping a close eye on the valley for some time now though, and it seems that luck has finally shined upon me." His tone was very cheerful, and he rubbed his wings together.

"You- you wanted to see me? What for?" Instinctively, he was worried that his uncle was there to take him away like he did with Ducky some time ago. He was half right.

"Petrie, my dear nephew, I have found your father!" Pterano's eyes glowed with intensity, and he outstretched his wings for emphasis of the news. Petrie froze then quickly started flapping his wings again to stay in the air. He was so close to the ground that he may as well have just landed, but he was too caught up in seeing his uncle and hearing the news to have noticed that.

"Where is he?" Petrie asked quickly.

"Very far from the Great Valley, atop the peak of a small mountain. Would you like to meet him?" Pterano asked carefully, eyeing the boy with his head turned to one side. He wanted Petrie to trust him, but he wasn't sure how easy that would be. He gauged his facial expression as a foreshadowing of the child's answer, and the old flier liked what he saw.

"Well, yes! Would he like to meet me?" Petrie replied hopefully

"Of course. Any father would like to meet his own son."

"Is he gonna fly over here?"

"Well, erm, he can't."

"Why not?"

"That, you should see for yourself." Pterano's voice sounded glum, like he wanted to say something, couldn't bring himself to say it, and felt badly for keeping a secret from his nephew again.

"Oh, okay. Let me go tell my mo-"

"Wait!" Pterano interrupted so quickly that it made Petrie jump in midair. "Your mother would never allow you to embark with me, even if it meant seeing your father once again. Besides, she would only accuse me of making it up. She believes he's dead. If you would like to meet him, just come with me." His favoritism towards Petrie was painfully obvious.

"Me- me do want to meet him…" he replied slowly at first, worried about leaving without his mother knowing. It was a different feeling than when he'd leave with Littlefoot and the others. His mama trusted them. "Okay, I'll go," he said at last, "but me want to say good-bye to friends at least."

Petrie was relieved when his uncle replied, "By all means."

The little flyer flew back to where he last saw Littlefoot and Cera gathered and was glad they hadn't moved. He guessed they were talking about Ducky and Spike, but he was too far away to be sure. When he arrived, he screeched to a halt, nearly flying into Cera, and thus began the race between his mouth and his thoughts. Needless to say, his thoughts were faster.

"Pterano- see dad- leaving valley- no tell mom," he said in small bursts as he panted hard.

"Whoa, Petrie, not so fast. Take a deep breath and say that again," Littlefoot instructed. Petrie put his wings on his knees as he slowed his breathing and his thoughts. He looked up at all of his friends and began explaining more calmly.

"Uncle Pterano inside the Great Valley. He know where my father is and will take me to him. Me no can tell mom though because she think he dead," he told them, ending with a tone of hope they'd keep his secret.

"Your mom thinks Pterano is dead?" Cera asked curiously.

"No, mom thinks dad is dead, so she would not believe uncle."

"Ha!" Cera replied with a snort. "I don't believe him either. He's probably up to his old tricks again." She settled her tone down somewhat to be sensitive and concluded, "Pterano just shouldn't be trusted."

"I don't know," Littlefoot cut in thoughtfully. "I don't see what Pterano has to gain from taking Petrie out of the valley. After he saved Ducky, he seemed different, I dunno. I really think he's really changed."

"Believe what you want. I still say don't trust him," Cera retorted, nose in the air.

"Me not sure if he really changed or not, but me always wanted to meet my dad. This could be only chance." He sounded so desperate, but Cera didn't back down.

"Why doesn't your dad just fly over here?" she asked him.

"Pterano say he can't." Knowing how suspicious that sounded, Petrie announced before anyone else could speak, "Me going. Good-bye, friends."

His friends paused then Littlefoot spoke up, "Good luck, Petrie. I hope you meet your dad."

Petrie flew up and hugged Littlefoot then hesitated but finally came over and embraced Cera's face as well. He flew back to where his uncle was waiting and saw him glancing around nervously. He couldn't be blamed for being anxious, Petrie knew, because there would be serious trouble if he was caught back early, especially for talking to him. Pterano was relieved to see him, and together they stealthily flew out of the valley. One heart was full of hope and excitement. The other was consumed by dread and guilt. The bright circle was still high in the sky as they vanished from view, but the brilliant rays of light would not last for the entire journey…

**Chapter End**

"Hello there, readers. I'm Littlefoot, and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. My grandpa says I'm optimistic, and I guess I am. Things aren't looking good for Cera and I with most of our friends gone, but still, I believe our luck is going to turn around. After all, next time on Familiar Love, the Great Valley gets some, uh, unusual visitors, and that can mean new friends!"


	3. Arriving

**Chapter II: Arriving**

"Now what are we going to do?" Cera asked, plopping her rear end down so hard that she created a small dust cloud. "It won't be fun playing with just the two of us."

"Yeah," Littlefoot agreed. "But who knows? Maybe we'll meet some new friends to play with."

"Doubt it," she replied with no expectations whatsoever.

Littlefoot grinned at Cera's never-failing pessimism. It wasn't pleasant, but it made her who she was, and he wanted dinosaurs to be themselves. He started walking away, and at first, Cera thought he was leaving her. But when his stomach growled twice, she knew exactly where he was going and followed. Walking through some bushes as a short cut, they arrived at some healthy trees with low branches. They hung down invitingly, covered in tree stars. They both began munching together, the cool flavor with the crunchiness and smooth texture joined together with the moisture of the dew to create a small paradise in their mouths. The dew still hung about there despite the time of day because the coolness of the shade kept it from evaporating. The way they tasted made it hard to eat just one, then it became rather difficult to consume two, and next, three simply wouldn't do, followed by… As they were stuffing their mouths, completely absorbed in their meal, a shadow passed by overhead. Littlefoot stopped chewing and swallowed a half crunched mash of green food. The gulp sounded rather ominous.

With a worried grimace and lowered head, Littlefoot said quietly, "Uh oh…"

The figure landed in front of them, freezing the children in fear. They backed up subtly, trying not to draw too much attention to their retreat. The kids could feel their hearts pounding faster and faster, and their breathing became somewhat irregular. The figure stared hard at them for a few moments and at last spoke, the voice's echo negated by the trees. Littlefoot felt a tingle of dread go down his spine at the words.

"Hey there, kids!" It was a blue flyer, and an old one. Her voice was not high, and it rippled slightly with the passion of her greeting. She waved with her right wing as she looked at them.

"Uh, hi, Petrie's mom," Littlefoot said with his mouth mostly closed. "Please don't ask about Petrie," he thought to himself three times in repetition. He could not face her if she knew he had let her son leave, but he wouldn't lie to her either. He was trapped between a tree and a hard place, and the tension in his muscles caused him to stand more erect than usual, increasing his discomfort exponentially. Maybe, though, she wouldn't ask. There was always hope…

"Have either of you two seen Petrie lately? It's time for his bath, but he always tries to elude me," she asked, looking this way and that as if he might be hiding just nearby. When he didn't come into view, she looked back at Littlefoot and Cera expectantly.

"Well, um, um- he's playing hide and seek with us! Yeah! It'll probably take us a long time to find him, but don't worry. He'll show up eventually!" Cera explained quickly. Littlefoot sighed mentally at that. He didn't want to get into trouble either, but after what happened when the tiny longnecks came to the valley, he detested lying with a passion. What to do, what to do! If he agreed, he'd be fibbing too, and if he told the truth, Cera would look bad and hate him. How did he always end up in the middle of such sticky situations? He had no idea what he was going to say, but he opened his mouth to speak anyway, ready to let the first words his heart whispered cry out. He never got the chance.

"He left with Pterano, didn't he?" his mother asked quietly, lowing her head slightly but keeping eye contact with the kids and smiling slightly.

"What!" Littlefoot asked in surprise, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "You- you knew Pterano was around the whole time? And you aren't angry that your son went with him?" The young longneck felt rather strongly that he was missing something here.

"Before Pterano had really left the area to go into exile, we spoke one last time," she began, finally breaking eye contact and turning her head away. She took a few steps near a tree and leaned on it. "He told me that he wants to devote his time for the greater good to make up for what he did a while back. When I asked him what he had in mind, I was shocked to hear that he had hoped my husband was still alive. I told him that he was crazy, that my mate would have come here by now if he was still living, but my brother wouldn't give up. Before he flew away, he said that if he finds my mate, he will return early. I saw him fly into the valley a bit ago, but I guess he didn't notice me, or maybe, he didn't even try to find me for fear I wouldn't believe him. It didn't occur to me until recently that he would try taking Petrie to him. I'm sorry for being coy."

"It's okay," Littlefoot assured her. "So, what are you going to do about this? Go after them?"

The flyer smiled and gazed at the children with hopeful, sparkling eyes and replied, "Hope that he is still alive, and if he is, that my son can finally meet his father. I'll see you around kids, and Cera, when you want to lie, don't hesitate so much and lose the 'um's.'"

Cera frowned as she flew away back to her nest. Littlefoot laughed, but the threehorn's glare quieted him, and he looked away. There was silence for quite a while.

"Well, looks like we're in for something new," Cera said at last, pawing at the dirt with one of her front feet. She snorted as well.

"And what's that, Cera?" Littlefoot asked her curiously.

"We are going to be bored out of our minds." And the two of them both feared this, and few games, if any, are fun with only two dinosaurs. They thought they could try meeting some of the other kids in the Great Valley for a change but first wanted to drink some water to wash down their tree stars. Even covered in dew, they create quite a thirst. However, unbeknownst to anyone around, some visitors were making their way into the valley at that very moment…

* * *

><p>Deep inside a dimly lit cave, two figures silhouetted in the vague light strode through warily and wearily. They were tired, hungry, and unsure if they were lost. The girl clutched the boy's wrist as they walked along, and he put his other hand over it to comfort her.<p>

"Are you sure we should have done this?" the girl asked nervously, looking up and around but mostly straight ahead.

"Sure I'm sure," he replied with confidence. He then slipped on a puddle in the cave and would have fallen on his rear if she hadn't pulled back to steady him. She giggled with her free hand over her mouth.

"You don't seem very sure on your feet though," she teased him, poking his forehead gently.

"Laugh all you want," he retorted as they kept on walking. "But you'll be thanking me when I-" As they turned a corner, their faces were struck by light, and their hearts with hope. They both trembled with excitement, the boy more so. The excited smiles spread across their faces as their eyes moved from the Thundering Falls to the grassy fields to best of all, some berry bushes. He grabbed her and hugged her tightly "-Find it," he finished at last.

"You did it, Asp!" the girl exclaimed, squeezing back happily.

"Heh, told ya didn't I? Here we are- at the Great Valley, just like I promised." However, while they were indeed _at_ the Great Valley, they had some work ahead of them yet to get _in_ the Great Valley. They looked down to see a narrow, steep path that winded down to the ground below. They were quite high up. The two of them slowly made their way down, Asp letting her go first and holding her hand so he could pull her up if she tripped. Finally, after a couple of minutes, they reached the bottom. He was technically glad she hadn't fallen, but he wished he could have repaid her for when he'd slipped earlier. Suddenly, his hope returned. He eyed something off into the distance, and the dryness of his throat seemed to crackle all the more severely from the sight. "Thirsty, Syn?" he asked, turning to her with a big grin and pointing.

"Yeah, I'm parched," she admitted, and her hand went to her throat instinctively when she saw that cool, clear water just waiting there for them. She licked the roof of her mouth and swallowed, and the saliva going down her dry airway stung slightly.

"Race ya to that watering hole!" he shouted, running before she realized what was going on. He bounded forward quickly, laughing gaily all the way.

"No fair getting a head start!" she complained as she struggled to catch up, but it wasn't an authentic complaint. She was happy, and nothing was going to take that away from her. Here, on a journey with Asp in a beautiful place like this, things couldn't possibly get any better. She took off as fast as her legs could carry her, and she nearly caught him. He'd just had too big of a lead to start with.

"Heh, I could beat you even if _you_ were the one with the head start," he teased playfully as he turned to see how far back she was.

"Asp, look out!" she cried, eyes widened in fear, but she was too late. It wasn't that she noticed and called out too slowly. Asp just had a slow reaction speed. He turned his head forward again and tried skidding to a halt, but he was carried over the grass by his vast momentum. He slid right into a small threehorn, and they both tumbled into the water, the girl on bottom. There was a big splash, and Syn finally caught up and started to laugh as did a nearby longneck. Their friends stood up and made their way out of the water, one red with embarrassment, the other using that color for anger.

"What's the big idea?" Cera yelled at the boy, turning to him with an unpleasant expression.

"My apologies. I was careless. Please excuse me," Asp replied quickly but clearly sincerely, and he nodded at her politely in the process.

Cera was taken aback by his manners and acceptance of the blame. Dinosaurs usually argued with her until she'd either win or run off angrily. She was not used to this at all. All she could think to do was reply, "It's- fine."

"Are you guys new here?" Littlefoot asked them. It was obvious they were, but that question was a cliché that just couldn't be avoided when strangers visit, almost like a social custom. While dinosaurs ask this, they should save time by inquiring something unknown such, "May I show you around?" "Would you like to rest?" or "How long will you be staying with us?" but nope, the question that is always asked is the one known beforehand. Before they answered, he took a good look at them.

The girl was burgundy on the back and had a lighter shade of it in between that and her yellow belly. Her eyes were a gentle hazel that glowed with intelligence, sensitivity, and softness. She looked at everyone, but her head was tilted down. The boy simply had one color besides his underside- purple, no differing of tone. He looked with a combination of green and brown, and his gaze seemed to stare right through you as if he was always thinking, always analyzing. The boy was clearly taller, but they both stood below Littlefoot's height.

"Is it that obvious?" Asp asked with a laugh, placing his hands together behind his head.

"Well, yeah. There haven't been any yellowbellies in the valley for a while now," Littlefoot informed him.

"Oh," was all Asp could think of to say. There weren't many things to say in response to that.

"Are you his sister?" Cera asked curiously, turning to Syn.

"Um…" she mumbled, looking way down and fumbling with her fingers.

"No, we're not related," Asp told her promptly.

"Can't she answer questions too?" Cera wondered aloud. She had wanted to establish a connection with another girl now that Ducky was gone, but she wasn't going to get very far if this boy spoke for her. Communication between two dinosaurs is rather tedious and boring when it takes three to do it. Her impatience was clear at once, both in her tone and expression.

"She's just shy around dinosaurs she doesn't know yet. If you have a question for us, kindly direct it to me," Asp replied half courteously, half curtly.

"Alright," Cera murmured in response, shrugging her shoulders with disappointment that they couldn't hit things off right away. Threehorns like most actions, but waiting certainly isn't one of them.

"Where are your parents?" Littlefoot questioned. He felt he was getting a little nosy at this point, but he still felt it to be a valid, appropriate, and necessary question.

"Not here," was all Asp said casually, looking as nonchalant as possible. Littlefoot was going to press the subject but was stopped by an outside force. A voice echoed in the distance, loud and clear. It seemed to be approaching at a rapid pace, and it clearly belonged to a young girl.

"Make waaay!" it rang. A little longneck about Littlefoot's age came sliding on the mud towards them at high speed. She was spinning in a circle and shuffling her feet trying to stop to no avail. Three of them managed to get away in time. The child collided with the one who didn't. She and Cera went head first into the watering hole, causing another big splash. Syn covered her mouth to avoid giggling this time, but Asp and Littlefoot burst out laughing at Cera's second dip.

"Sooo sorry," the longneck with reddish-brown skin apologized. Cera remained in an angry silence as she stepped out of the water, shaking one leg at a time to get the moisture off. When she was finally dry for the most part, the new girl stepped out and shook herself, getting water all over Cera again.

"Wow, three new faces in one day," Littlefoot marveled.

"Oh?" the longneck questioned. "Some of you are new here too?" She eyed them curiously, tilting her head more and more until she strained her neck, and the shock of the pain made her fall on her rear with an, "Ow!" She shook her head a few times, clearly alright, and then jumped back to her feet. Her gaze was a deep brown, and it danced about cheerfully, full of laughter, happiness, and life. If you looked hard enough, it felt like you were gazing into merriment itself.

"Yes, those yellowbellies just arrived too," Littlefoot explained to her.

"Cool!" the longneck explained with much enthusiasm, jumping up and down.

"Let's all get properly introduced," Littlefoot suggested. He wanted things to be done right, and he was used to taking charge when the right time came. He sounded very serious and proper, and announced, "I'm Littlefoot."

"Cera," the threehorn told the group in a low tone. She was not exactly happy about getting covered in water three times in one day against her will. Her mood was lower than the night circle was during the day.

The male yellowbelly stepped forward, cleared his throat, and informed everyone, "My name is Asp, and this is my best friend, Syn," he concluded, holding his hand open and pointing it at her respectfully. She nodded as a thank you to him and kept her head low, slightly bashful.

"My name is awesome," the longneck told them, and she seemed very proud of that. Her voice and her face just reeked of pride.

"Nice to meet you, Awesome," Asp told her, nodding in her direction.

Stamping her feet playfully and laughing, she replied, "No, silly," then she bent forward and wagged her tail. "My name isn't Awesome. My name is awesome."

The others gave her a puzzled look, and she giggled all the more. Her laughter was loud and straight from the heart. It was warming, comforting, and made you instantly like her. Even if someone had no idea what was going on, her joyous noise could have almost anyone laughing right along with her.

"My name is Stardipper, but most dinosaurs just call me Star," she explained so they could understand, and the others all mouthed an, "Ohhh…"

"How did you end up with a name like that?" Cera asked curiously, her wondering beginning to replace her anger.

"Well," Star replied, in a matter-of-fact tone and standing very erect as if to give a speech on life and death, "I hatched at night, under a starry sky. I saw the stars' reflection in a large water hole and thought they were in the water, you know, before I knew that ponds just copy things. Well, I was so intrigued by the little lights that I dived right into the water. My dad quickly pulled me out, and that earned me my awesome name." She beamed when she finished, expecting all sorts of impressed remarks from her audience.

"Wow, interesting story," Asp told her. He stared into space and nodded as he spoke, showing how intrigued he was.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed with a big grin.

"Now let me guess," Cera began, "Your parents aren't here either."

"Right as sky water!" Star replied eagerly.

"So where are your guys' families?" Littlefoot asked again. He wanted to make sure his guests were cared for, as even the Great Valley had its dangers. He felt a little silly asking them this being so young himself, but he knew there are times when a kid has to be mature. This was one of those times, and he was going to see to it they were looked after.

"Dead," Asp replied in a monotone voice. Syn looked away with a sad expression.

"On my!" Star exclaimed, turning to them. "You poor things!" She looked like she was about to cry for them, even though she'd just met them.

"We're fine," he told them flatly. Changing the subject while keeping it at the same time, he asked Star, "What about yours?"

"Where's my family at? Hm…" There was a very long pause, and then she suddenly exclaimed, "No clue!" with a great, big smile. All of her grinning was starting to creep Cera out.

"Did you get separated from them?" Littlefoot asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeppers! I woke up this morning, and my parents were totally gone." She did not seem at all riled or concerned to everyone's bemusement. One of them didn't want to stay confused for long, though.

"And, you're fine with that?" Cera asked her incredulously, wondering if anything got Star upset.

"Nope, I miss 'em real bad, but worrying won't help at all. That never helps ANYTHING. Not one bit. All I can do is wait until I cross paths with them again. I know they'll find me sometime." Star seemed hopeful as could be.

"If only some of her positive attitude would rub off on Cera," Littlefoot thought to himself with a silent laugh. Now came the mature part. Three new kids had come to the Great Valley, they had no chaperones, no idea where anything was, and they needed someone to be there for them. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. "So since you guys have no place to sleep, want to stay with me? My grandparents wouldn't mind at all, and I like company." He knew that Cera's father wouldn't welcome any guests except possibly some threehorns.

"That sounds great, thank you," Asp replied gratefully, and Syn bowed politely. Star's response was much less gentle and quiet.

She tackled Littlefoot to the ground so that he was on his back and she was on top of him, and shouted, "Alright! I'd looove to stay with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Before she got off, she licked his face vigorously.

Scrambling to get up as she stepped off of him, he put a foot to his cheek and wiped away the slobber, but he could not remove the redness of his face. He wanted to forget that ever happened at once, so he said nothing on the matter and drew no more attention to it. He was not used to anything like that besides from his mom and grandmother.

He replied only slightly awkwardly, "Uh, you're welcome. So, uh, would you guys like a tour of the valley? I've lived here for a long time and know it like the back of my tail."

"Sounds great!" Star answered, and Asp and Syn nodded in agreement, so Littlefoot began to lead the others around, showing them the Rock Circle, sand pits, Secret Caverns, berry bushes (which Asp and Syn took a special interest in), and much more.

"Nope," Littlefoot thought to himself as he led them along and explained what things were. "I don't think we're going to be bored with the others gone- at all."

**Chapter End**

"Hi! It's me, Star! I wanted to greet you readers with all my affection and give you a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. Okay, so, there's this old guy named Mr. Thicknose, and he has a lesson for us about love! Awesome! Next, we play a cool game, and in both situations, Asp's character becomes clearer. He's very, eh, mm, uh… interesting!"


	4. The Lovely Lesson

**Chapter III: The Lovely Lesson**

"Sweet tour," Star complimented. She enjoyed it but still found it a little tiring so yawned deeply.

"Thanks," Littlefoot replied proudly, beaming.

He had just shown them the Sheltering Grass and warned them never to go near it, reminding them of what happened to him and his friends last time they tried that. The others nodded in agreement and gazed out over the ominous sand with dread. They kinda wanted to live. At this point, all three of the newcomers were getting a little sleepy. Their energy wasn't too far gone, but they found the tour to be a little monotonous. "This is this, that is that, etcetera." They liked very much to know where things were and more about them, yet the attention span of a child often leaves much to be desired. Syn rubbed her eyes and her body jerked slightly as she silently hiccupped while Asp yawned much louder than Star had and stretched his arms to the sky. He knew it would be rude to say they were bored now, so he found a more subtle way of ending that state.

"So what do you guys do around here, like, for fun?" Asp inquired. He asked casually, not drawing any attention to the fact that he desperately needed some of that.

"We play games, and that's pretty much it," Littlefoot replied, thinking as he spoke.

"Yeah," Cera cut in as she began talking in an emphatic tone, "but sometimes we go on amazing adventures out in the Mysterious Beyond!"

The three visitors looked curious, as in fact, they were. Amazing adventures in the Mysterious Beyond? That sounded beyond epic to them all, and they weren't going to stand there without hearing more about it. Syn was too shy, however, and Asp was a faster speaker than Star was.

"What part of the valley is this Mysterious Beyond in?" Asp wanted to know, and his interest increased the pitch of his voice. He cleared his throat at once in embarrassment from his squeaky inquiry.

"Oh, the Mysterious Beyond is anywhere outside of the valley," Littlefoot explained. "It wasn't long after we moved here and this became our home that everything else just became the unknown."

"Interesting," Asp said in reply with a hand on his chin. Then there was silence. The kids suddenly had nothing more to say, so they simply shifted uncomfortably from standing in one place for so long. They looked around without direction, hoping that someone else would say something. When Asp yawned again, it became contagious, and so the four followed suit. Their minds totally focused on the prolonged inhalation, they were completely caught off guard when an abrupt noise rippled through the air.

"Good day, children," an old voice called to them. Syn and Asp jumped, the latter just about falling over if not for the former, and Star quickly turned to its owner, being not as prone to jerking in surprise. Littlefoot and Cera had seen far too many sharpteeth and heard the voice enough not to be startled much at all. Their eyes simply opened quickly. They all looked to see a very old dinosaur all on fours looking at them with a cheerful but tired expression, the kind not from laborious weariness, but that of being elderly.

"Hello, Mr. Thicknose," Littlefoot answered cheerfully. He looked at the children and was pleased to see new faces. Certain that Littlefoot and Cera had mentioned his wonderful, fascinating lectures, he skipped the introductions.

"Ready for a new lesson?" he asked them, eyes shining.

"I guess," Cera said somberly. He ignored her tone.

"Who's this guy?" Asp whispered to Littlefoot, his hand beside his mouth to muffle the question.

"Our teacher," Littlefoot whispered back. "Sorry I forgot to mention him. His lectures can be pretty boring."

"Alright then," Mr. Thicknose began. "Today's lesson is going to be about love." He put extra emphasis into "love," his expression somewhat giddy at the thought of teaching on such an important subject. He recalled his childhood with this matter, and how he never cared enough about it or paid attention to it. That's why he was all alone.

"Huh!" Cera exclaimed, and Mr. Thicknose chuckled.

"You kids are getting older," he explained, "and it's important that you learn how to behave towards a possible partner. Let's see how you do. You there, the little yellowbellies. Pretend you two were in love. What would you say and do?" He stood back and watched them with interest and low expectations.

Asp didn't think for very long. He quickly looked around the flat, grassy area they were in and spotted some flowers. They were bunched together and had red buds, beautiful and fragrant. He walked over to them, plucked them gently, and breathed in their aroma, making sure they were good enough. He turned around slowly with a cool stride and presented them to Syn.

He bowed before her, and said, "Only one with beauty like yours is deserving of such beauties of nature. Please, accept these flowers along with my love." He spoke softly but with passion, and though his head was bowed, he looking at her with penetrating eyes.

Syn turned very red. She forced a smile despite her tension and tried to relax to no avail. She tried reaching for the flowers, but her body was stiff and unresponsive. Finally, she jerked control back and reached out, slowly take hold of the red plants in Asp's hand. That was the limit of her reaction though, as she was too embarrassed to form any words. Fortunately, Asp quickly covered for her, wanting it to seem like she was really participating.

"You are wise to waste no words, as your smile speaks well for you. Thank you for accepting my gift, and myself. May I forever please you as I did just now." No shade could hide the brightness on Asp's face. His smile was as genuine as they come, and Syn turned away bashfully, almost giggling from not knowing what else to do.

The others were very impressed, especially Mr. Thicknose. He suddenly had high hopes for this boy, as it was rare to find a romantic child, especially a male. They usually found things like this unimportant or gross. He could visualize at once Asp with a mate and very happy someday. He certainly had the skill to attract a girl.

"Splendid job, lad, splendid," Mr. Thicknose congratulated him. "I have never seen such a well-done answer to this topic. You showed generosity and thoughtfulness. You were kind, sophisticated, and polite, even helping when you needed to. You'll go far with romance." Asp beamed and fidgeted with the dirt using his foot as his hands were behind his back. Now he wanted to try the longnecks, so he looked at them both, now having high hopes for this generation. Kids had come a long way since he'd been one. "Now, Littlefoot and uh-" he trailed off, regretting his cancellation of introductions as he looked at the girl.

"I'm Star!" she informed him merrily, jumping as she said so.

"Thank you," he replied, clearing his throat. "Yes, Littlefoot and Star, let's see how you do."

The sky puffies overhead had been moving slowly, and now they had finally come to rest under the bright circle. The Great Valley was suddenly filled with a dim shade, and while it was pleasantly cooling, it sucked away the jovial atmosphere that normally hung about when daylight was sharing its gift in all its glory. A breeze rustled through some tree branches then stopped almost as suddenly as it had come. In the clearing where they stood, it was suddenly so quiet that you could hear a tree star drop. Littlefoot swallowed twice, looking hard at Star. This would have been far less awkward if she had licked him so earlier.

"Um," he mumbled then grew silent for a few seconds, "you like nice today." Then he suddenly froze as his eyes widened. Star looked at him expectantly. "Er, not that you didn't look nice yesterday! I mean, I didn't see you yesterday so maybe you really didn't. Wait, I mean surely you all always look this nice. That is-" fumbled out of his mouth at a great speed until it stopped abruptly. He gulped as blood rushed to his face, and he shifted his weight from side to side. He was almost shaking as all eyes were on him during this moment of being completely lost and embarrassed.

Star grinned and had to keep herself from laughing. She looked down for a moment then glanced back up at him, eyes shining like the stones near the Smoking Mountain. She approached him very slowly, and Littlefoot was too tense to consider backing up and moving closer. It was all on Star to save him now. She reached Littlefoot then just stood there for a while, looking into his eyes. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, her face jolted forward, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you. You're a sweet boy," she told him softly. Unlike Asp, however, who was very mild in his expressions to Syn, Star wore a countenance that was as seductive as they come. Littlefoot tilted his head up and swallowed hard to get the lump out of his throat. He was so stiff that he nearly fell over. His mouth was dry so he sounded somewhat hoarse at first, but finally the words stumbled out of his mouth, the only ones he could think of to say in response.

"You're welcome."

Mr. Thicknose was not entirely disappointed, but had expected more from one of his star students. He hadn't taught about this before, but Littlefoot usually caught onto things faster than most others, sometimes than anyone at all. He wondered if maybe he should have spoken more about it rather than just thrusting the kids into unfamiliar territory, but he didn't have much to say on the matter. Love is unique for everyone. He can guide the kids, but he can't instill what love is or what methods work best. There was no science to this, and that made Mr. Thicknose doubt the very foundation of the lesson. But then he shook his head. This matter was important and needed to be brought up. He wouldn't let these fine children spend their adulthood single if he could help it.

"You may want to get some advice from the yellowbelly boy, but not too bad," he told Littlefoot for his "grade." "You approached her comfortably and started conversation. You were complimentary but just got a little tongue tied in the process." Littlefoot grinned and chuckled sheepishly, and Asp looked awkward. He was not used to getting compliments so being an example made him rather uncomfortable. He shifted and did not meet Littlefoot's eyes.

"I guess I don't have to do this," Cera said quickly and hopefully, breaking any tension in the air. "No other kids here."

"Not to worry," Mr. Thicknose assured her with a smile. "You can practice with me." Cera's mouth hung agape, but only for a moment.

"Ugh, gross," she thought to herself, squinting her eyes slightly, but Mr. Thicknose thought it was only because the bright circle was shining down unhindered again. He decided that he would start off, as it was tradition for male dinosaurs to approach the girls.

"Good morning, my dear," he said to her formally.

"Yeah, hi, whatever," she mumbled. Mr. Thicknose gave her a warning look but continued.

"You have some rather nice horns for a female," he complimented, awaiting her bashful pleasure at being spoken to so highly.

"What did you say!" she exclaimed angrily, taking Mr. Thicknose by surprise. "My horns are just better than anyone's, certainly any boy's!" She stomped on the ground, turned away, and began walking off, sulking most severely.

"Looks like I can give some tips to Mr. Thicknose as well," Asp whispered to Syn, and she giggled slightly with a hand over her mouth. Mr. Thicknose hadn't heard, but he cleared his throat at just that moment, so Asp thought that he had. He straightened up immediately in reform.

"Now then," Mr. Thicknose continued, hiding his awkwardness, "I hope you all have seen what _isn't_ a good idea to say to someone you like. Compliments can be a double-edged stone that must be used properly."

"Riiight," Asp whispered, and Syn couldn't suppress her laughter this time. Mr. Thicknose turned to her sharply.

"What is it you find so entertaining, young lady?" he asked her. He knew exactly what, but his pride forced him to ask anyway. Asp quickly stepped forward in reverence.

"It's my fault. I told her a joke during the lesson," he admitted, and Syn looked at him in silence.

"See to it that that does not happened again," the old dinosaur warned him, giving him a look that complimented his words and tone. Asp nearly shuddered.

"Understood," he replied, barely above a whisper. Syn took ahold of his hand and squeezed it, and so Asp was able to relax and get some color back into his face. Mr. Thicknose felt that he had planted a seed in the children, and nothing more could he say to help them along with this. Love is learned by experience, trials and error, and will. He had no idea what the future held for his students, but he was determined to set them on a clear path.

"Alright, you are all dismissed," he told them.

The children walked briskly away, but Asp circled around behind Mr. Thicknose without him noticing, as he was still deep in thought. He plucked a large leaf and dipped it in a nearby puddle he had seen earlier. He then set it right in front of one of Mr. Thicknose's front feet then hurried back to his friends. Cera snickered, but Littlefoot and Syn looked concerned. They didn't dare get Asp in any more trouble, but they didn't want Mr. Thicknose to hurt himself. Asp assured them that he was tough and would be fine, so they quickly hurried away so they wouldn't be caught at the scene of the crime.

"They're good kids," he thought to himself. "They don't need much guidance either. I wonder if I'm not all that needed." His thoughts troubled him, as self-doubt is a powerful foe. At last, tired of thinking and hungry, he started to head over to some bushes for a snack. However, he stepped on the leaf, slipped forward with a cry, and came crashing down onto his belly, sore, but otherwise unharmed. He spied the slippery green food as he lied there and said with a frown, "Then again…"

* * *

><p>"That teacher is a real piece of work," Asp said half-jokingly, half upset for calling Syn out like that.<p>

"He means well," Littlefoot assured him as they walked along a field of tall grass that reminded him of Spike. He loved eating here. Asp shrugged his shoulders, believing the longneck but done with the subject.

"Let's play a game or something," Cera suggested, her boredom echoing from the tallest mountain. They all paused to think about it. A game was a good idea but a rather general one.

"Hide and seek?" Asp offered before anyone else had a suggestion.

"That would be awesome!" Star concluded, jumping up excitedly. No one objected, so all the kids began to hide. Littlefoot found a big boulder, and Asp and Syn found some berry bushes together. They might get hungry while they hid. Star was looking this way and that for a good spot and finally settled on the same place Littlefoot was, but there wasn't enough room so he whispered that she find another place. Cera found some tall trees to her liking and hunched down behind one. Suddenly, Asp froze, and a huge smile curled across his lips.

"Hold it!" Asp shouted with a laugh, and they all stopped and looked at him. "Guys," he said, still barely able to talk through laughter, "We can't _all_ hide. Someone needs to be picked to find the others."

"Oh, right…" Littlefoot said, embarrassed along with the rest of them. Their minds were still stuck on that awkward lesson from Mr. Thicknose, so they'd actually forgotten the rules of the game for a moment. They all came out from hiding, as they'd all seen where everyone was anyway.

"I can be the one who looks," Asp offered and waited to see if anyone had a problem with it. When no one did, he went over to a tall tree, leaned against it, and closed his eyes. He counted to three in his head then began counting from one out loud.

Littlefoot ran a ways and crouched down behind a bush he could circle around as Asp looked, Cera made her way into a large crevice in the valley wall, and Star hurried away and knelt behind a tree. Syn looked all around, trying to decide on a perfect spot, but she kept finding reasons to hide somewhere else. Wanting to impress Asp by being found last was making her indecisive. She wandered around for a while and still could not find somewhere that suited her. So, instead of settling down, she kept up her search long after Asp had finished counting.

"Ready or not (though I hope you all are) here I come!" Asp called out. He ran from the tree excitedly then slowed down after a few seconds to scan the area. He wanted his eyes to work before his feet had to do much. As expected, however, there was no one in sight. He glanced around several trees and found nobody. He then began walking in a direction that wouldn't lead him to any of them. As he got farther and farther away, Cera giggled. She was certain that he couldn't hear her from that far away. Well, sometimes certainty can be wrong. His sensitive ears had perked up, and he turned and began coming back. Looking toward the great wall, he made his way towards a small opening in it.

"Uh oh," Cera said to herself, backing up to be more hidden in the darkness. She did NOT want to be the first one caught. Her pride was screaming at her to keep out of sight. She went around a small corner invisible from the outside so that even if he poked his head in somewhat, it would seem empty. That was a good idea, but she stepped on a stone and let out a quiet but audible cry. Asp quickly arrived at the crevice and grinned.

"Well, I'm sure that no one hid in there. It's gross. I saw a lot of bugs crawling around in there when I got here." Of course, that wasn't the case, though he knew it might be, so he had decided to find her in the easiest and safest way possible.

"Eek!" Cera screamed as she rushed out and bumped into Asp. They would have fallen over if he hadn't been expected this, but he had braced himself for impact, keeping them both on their feet. He laughed heartily as she backed away from him with anger on her face.

"That wasn't fair!" she complained. "You tricked me!" It was obvious by his laughter that he really hadn't seen anything there earlier.

"Since when did hide and seek have finding rules?" he asked with a smirk.

"Since- since- there just are, okay? So I didn't officially lose!" she insisted, her face red and hot.

"Okay, Cera. You didn't lose. Got it," he told her quickly with a nod and serious expression.

"Are you being sarcastic?" she asked, tone rising.

"Me? Sarcastic?" Asp looked and sounded quite injured. He put a hand to his chest and continued, "Goodness gracious, far be it from me to utter words that aren't lined with sincerity! It's official- you didn't lose."

"Well, I'm glad we got that settled," she replied, satisfied as she turned away.

"Heh, she is so clueless," Asp thought, chuckling to himself then he rubbed his hands together. "Okay, now to find the others." And he knew just how to do it. He started climbing up the side of a cliff wall, and, when he was satisfied at his height, he bent over and grabbed a handful of dirt. Pulling his arm back, he thrust it as hard as he could into the area below. He leaned his head outward, holding a hand to his ear, and listened very carefully as the dust started to settle. It was faint, but he heard it alright. Somebody sneezed. He scurried down and began running towards the noise.

"It sounded like a guy, so it must have been Littlefoot," he said to himself. He ran through some bushes until he hit someone. The impact knocked him down, and he stood up quickly and rubbed his behind. Then he glanced forward to see the angry expression of a grown clubtail.

"What's the big idea, throwing all that dirt at me!" he bellowed. He pressed his face against Asp's menacingly.

"Are you the one who sneezed?" Asp asked him curiously.

"Hey, are you even listening to me! Answer my question!" the clubtail bellowed.

"So it was you who sneezed then?" Asp repeated with a yawn. This conversation was boring him.

"Yeah, it was, and I don't appreciate- Hey!" he screamed when Asp turned and walked away casually.

"It wasn't Littlefoot after all. Oh well. At least I have my backup plan." As he moved along, however, someone blocked his path.

"I wasn't finished talking!" Mr. Clubtail shouted. "Now you listen here-"

"Hey, will you quiet down, already? I'm trying to find some friends of mine."

"Quiet dow- You insolent child!" His voice was red with rage, and his bopper tail was starting to curl around. "Respect your elders, you brat!"

"You're my elder?" Asp questioned.

"Of course I am!" he exclaimed, face almost purple now. "Do I look younger?"

"Do you look younger than what?" Asp pressed, yawning again.

"Than- Oh, that does it!" He stomped the ground so hard that Asp nearly fell over. "I am going to knock some sense into-" Suddenly, Littlefoot emerged from his hiding place and got between them. He stared at Mr. Clubtail pleadingly.

"Please, calm down. Asp is new to the area. Give him a little break, okay? I'll talk to him about this." Littlefoot had an apologetic tone that eased the anger in the air, and Mr. Clubtail's expression slowly grew mild. He looked at Asp then back to Littlefoot.

"Pfft. Fine. He isn't worth my time anyway." With that, Mr. Clubtail tromped away. Littlefoor turned to Asp at once.

"What did you think you were doing, talking to Mr. Clubtsail that way?" Littlefoot asked him. "He might have hurt you!"

"Oh, it's not what I _thought_ I was doing, it's what I _did_. You hid really well, and you seemed like the peaceful type that likes to break up fights. Now just Star and Syn remain," he finished rubbing his hands together again and looking around. Littlefoot just stared at him for a moment in disbelief.

"Wait a minute!" Littlefoot asked in shock. "You started a fight just to find me?"

"Well, the dust storm didn't work, but that was my second plan if it failed. Well, see ya. I have some girls to locate." With that, he turned and began walking away, searching carefully with his eyes. Littlefoot stared as Asp walked away.

"His ways are even sillier than that yellowbelly herd I helped a while back!" the longneck exclaimed. Then his voice softened as he watched the yellowbelly go. "But I guess they work too."

* * *

><p>Asp turned his head this way and that. He was expecting to have a hard time finding everyone else, as he was out of ideas of how to outsmart them, but his worries were needless. He grinned as he spied the tip of a tail protruding from behind a tree. He crept over silently.<p>

"Hm," he said very loudly. "I sure hope everyone is hiding well. I wouldn't anyone giving their position away with, oh, a tail or something." Immediately, Star pulled her tail in out of sight.

"Phew, that was a close one, Star," Asp called out. "If you hadn't pulled your tail in, I might have seen it."

"Thank goodness!" Star thought to herself. "I wouldn't want to give my location away." Then she paused in thought for quite some time. The entire area was silent as Star began analyzing what had just happened. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Hey!" and came out from behind the tree, laughing. Asp, wearing a big smirk, walked directly in front of her and crossed his arms with a grin.

"Aw," she moaned in mock sadness. "Bad tail!" she shouted, thumping it hard in the ground. Asp chuckled then moved on.

"Now to find Syn. She's a really good hider," Asp said to himself.

Syn, however, had not hidden at all. Her search for a good spot had merely led her far from the others. She would never give up, so she pressed on. The grass was cool to her feet and made the trek comfortable. The sky was clear, but some trees she was passing gave a peaceful shade. A hum slipped from her mouth as she did her best to find a place where she would never be found. Suddenly, her tune was interrupted by a small cry of surprise. She turned around and looked about but saw no one. Walked ahead for a bit, she nearly fell into a hole. She flailed her arms to stead herself, emitting a loud, "Whoa!" but she managed to stay on her feet. When she had regained her balance, she was breathing hard from the ordeal and her heart was racing. She finally peeked down into the little hole, and she couldn't help but notice what was in it- a baby threehorn who must have just fallen in. Pink and looking very frightened, she tried jumping out, putting her front legs up on the wall, but it was no use. Syn looked around for a parent, but there was no one in sight.

Syn lied on her side and reached her arm down as far as it would go and tried to pull her out, but the hole was too deep. Her hand barely poked the little threehorn's nose. The bright circle was beating down hard in this spot, no shade, so the baby must have been very uncomfortable. She had to get help to get her out, but she didn't want the baby to get bright circle burned in the meantime. Running back to a tree for a leafy branch, Syn returned and covered the hole. Making sure it was secure, she quickly turned to find someone but immediately let out a cry of alarm for doing so earlier than she'd expected. She had just bumped into another threehorn- a very, very angry one.

**Chapter End**

"Yeah, this is Asp. Sorry if I sound annoyed right now. I am, actually. Next time on Familiar Love, Mr. Threehorn gives my best friend a hard time, and no one, and I mean no one, messes with Syn when I'm around… He had better make up for it!"


	5. Danger from Within

**Chapter IV: Danger from Within**

In the grassy clearing near the wall of the Great Valley, no wind blew, and the bright circle continued beating down fiercely. Three figures stood in a triangle, one out of sight. A few leaves were being eaten up on a bush by some beetles, but no one else was around but them.

"What were you doing?" the threehorn asked Syn. He got right in her face and snorted.

"I- I uh-" she stammered, fumbling with her fingers and not looking into his eyes.

He walked over to the hole, shoved the branches away, and saw his daughter at the bottom. He turned a bright shade of red; he was furious. He put his head inside, and the little threehorn grabbed on as he pulled her out and set her down gently.

"I thought I heard my daughter's yelp! Don't think I'll take your attempted killing lightly because you're a child!" He growled, and his voice echoed loudly through the Great Valley. He bared his front horn against her chest, forcing her back into a tree. Syn started to panic and couldn't find any words to say. Tears streamed down her face, but Mr. Threehorn didn't care.

"You should be crying after what you tried to do!" She shook her head, but he added, "You won't even deny it! If I wasn't so self-controlled, you'd be a smear in the ground right now. I'll see to it that you're banished from the Great Valley immediately. If you set one foot here again, you'll never set foot in any place ever again. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"I- I-" Syn's face was pale as snow.

"Speak up!" he roared.

Suddenly, a rock sailed through the air and hit Mr. Threehorn on the back of his head. He quickly turned to see four more children, two of which he recognized.

"Which one of you threw that?" he snarled.

"Why, it happened to be, Mr. Bully," Asp replied with a forced casualness that reeked of concealed rage. "Now then, leave her alone, or I'll hit you again." It was clearly not an empty threat, as he bent down that moment and grabbed a much larger stone. He tossed it up into the air a few times with one hand while looking with a cool defiance at the old threehorn.

Cera's father turned away from Syn and ran towards Asp, shoving him to the ground with his horn. The yellowbelly didn't fight back nor seemed frightened. Or rather, his gaze did the fighting for him. His eyes pierced the threehorn's deeply, and it infuriated him all the more, shoving the boy down harder.

"Daddy, stop!" Cera screamed. She had never been this terrified of her father's actions before. Being violent to children? They all had heard the conversation on the way over. He suspected Syn tried burying Tricia (which she herself did not accept as truth), and Asp did throw a rock to defend her, but this was beyond madness. Her father was not as controlled as he claimed.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what she did!" he yelled. "She tried burying your sister alive!"

Littlefoot, Cera, and Star did not know how to battle that claim, but Asp managed to get up while Mr. Threehorn was detracted by rolling to a side, and then he laughed. The old threehorn turned to him sharply.

"You are such an idiot," he sneered in quiet mockery. "Syn wouldn't hurt a thing. You're clearly, definitely, and obviously- insane."

Mr. Threehorn charged the boy again, but Cera got in the way and looked angrily at her father.

"You must have just misunderstood, daddy!" she exclaimed. "These yellowbellies are my friends, and they're really nice."

"You made friends with these troublemakers? For shame!" he growled, but he was looking at Asp, not his daughter, as he spoke to her.

"They really are good dinosaurs!" Littlefoot cut in defensively. "This must be a mistake. Did you see her do it?" Mr. Threehorn was at a temporary loss for words at the question as the longneck gazed at him intently. Cera and Star got beside him and stared the same way. Asp went over, taking Syn by the wrist and pulling her gently to the others, and the five of them gave the angered father the same questioning expression except Syn who just stared at the ground. Finally, however, Mr. Threehorn found his voice.

"Humph! The girl didn't even deny it! She therefore accepted her guilt." Asp scoffed.

"She was smart not to talk to a jerk like you," Asp told him cheerfully, and it was all Mr Threehorn could do not to charge him again. The boy turned to Syn and with a tone of faith, comfort, and softness, he asked Syn, "What really happened?" but she was crying and very shaken so simply buried her face in his chest. Turning back to Cera's dad with a look far less mild, he asked coyly, "What exactly did you see her do?"

"I saw her covering that hole with branches, look around, then back away," he replied indignantly. Asp, in response, looked casually towards the bright circle.

"It's a hot day," he said at last. "And I bet your daughter fell into that hole, and Syn was shading her until she found help." His body moved slightly as Syn nodded against him.

Mr. Threehorn grew silent, and just stared at nothing for a moment.

"If that's the truth, she would have just said so! I bet you're wrong, and she's just agreeing to stay out of trouble."

"Syn does not take kindly to dinosaurs she's never met, let alone ones who scream and falsely accuse her." His soft tone was a thin shell around his rage as he spoke, and the heaviness in the air grew fivefold. "I don't care what you believe. I know Syn would never hurt your daughter, but if you want to believe a kid tried murdering her for no reason, be my guest. Let's go, guys."

Asp turned to leave, and the others followed, Syn finally letting go and standing on her own. She looked at Asp's face for just a moment with a smile until he wrapped his arm around her, walking side by side. Cera turned back to her father just once with a hurt and disappointed expression before continuing with the others. Mr. Threehorn stood there, all alone in more ways than one, and was suddenly guilt stricken. Now that had calmed down to think about this, it did seem crazy for a kid to try killing his daughter for no reason. He finally believed what Asp had told him, but he was too proud to apologize to some punk kid who stood up to him with no fear. He scooped his daughter onto his face and walked back to his nest, mind troubled.

"You have one messed up dad," Asp said told Cera with contempt as they walked away with no destination.

Cera wanted to disagree, but she too was appalled at how he treated Syn, so she remained silent.

"Well that was exciting! Sooo dramatic. You guys must live the most thrilling of lives!" Star exclaimed, breaking the silence and livening the mood. "I can't wait to see what else happens here!"

"This kind of excitement…" Asp trailed off. "I can live without."

"Uh, another game?" Littlefoot suggested quickly, taking Star's hint, trying to change the subject into something more cheerful.

"As long as it doesn't involve going anywhere, I can handle that," Asp replied, and he secured his arm around Syn more snuggly.

"I have an idea!" Star exclaimed, as usual. "Let's- RUN!" When she said "run," she screamed so loudly it hurt their ears. They understood how excitable Star can be, but that loudness was to an unpleasant extreme. The others looked at her curiously, wondering why she suddenly used so much emphasis and widened her eyes so. Still, not thinking they would get an answer, the question was directed at the content.

"That doesn't sound like a very fun game," Cera pointed out. "We run all the time."

"No, I mean move it! Go go GO! A fastbiter!" With that, Star wasted no more time and started high tailing it out of there.

The others quickly turned to see a fully-grown fastbiter, just like Star had said, standing behind them. Screaming like they always do when in danger, the kids started to run. The meat eater eyed them, and his drool watered a dying flower in a dry mound. His claws tensed in excitement and anticipation of a full belly. He did not roar for fear of drawing any extra attention. He did not understand their language, but he knew that they had merely screamed and that that doesn't necessarily mean they were in danger. Kids like to pretend, and he hoped that any nearby adults would assume that. Not wasting any time, he took off after them, his stomach making more noise than any other part of him.

The kids hustled through some trees, weaving around them without slowing down, and Asp kept a firm grip on Syn's arm. Suddenly, Littlefoot came to a stop and backed up. The others noticed, but kept going, knowing he had something in mind. He went over to a tree with a low branch and pulled it far back until his jaws ached from the strain. When the carnivore came around, the longneck let go as the limb swung forward. However, he had smelled Littlefoot nearby and so was prepared for something like this. He caught the branch in his mouth and bit down, snapping it in two like a leaf. Littlefoot gazed in horror as the fastbiter started coming right for him. Trying not to panic, he continued running, and it was fortunate that he knew the area well.

The others had slowed down so he could catch up, and when he did so, he led them around rocks, trees, sinking sand, and holes with ease. They trusted him like a baby following his father, and it paid off. The fastbiter was new to the valley so couldn't move as swiftly through obstacles, having to judge his actions as they came. Once, he tripped over a rock that was right after he had had to jump because of a hole. The kids were now getting farther ahead and all seemed to be going well, but Syn looked back and missed a small, dead log lying on the ground in front of her. She tripped, fell on her face bringing Asp down with her, and they slid a short distance on their bellies. The others didn't notice at first, but a groan from her made them all turn in a panic.

The fastbiter was nearly upon the yellowbellies, barring his teeth and extracting his claws further, when he was knocked back hard into the air crashing against a large boulder. There was a sickening crack, but the hunter got up quickly and growled at his assaulter. Before he could counterattack, however, he was rammed hard once more, this time dazing him. He got up, shaking his head violently to cure his vision, and clutched his leg painfully, moaning. He started to limp away, but Mr. Threehorn wasn't interested in letting that happen. Charging forward yet again, the fastbiter went skidding along the ground into some sinking sand. Struggling hard, he tried to get out, but it soon clear to him and his spectators that it was all in vain. He slowly sank until his head was below the surface, and a few bubbles came up then ceased. Mr. Threehorn let out a loud "Humph!" stomped the ground, and then walked back to the kids to see if they were alight. Asp and Syn were on their feet again, and they all came over to Cera's dad with grateful expressions.

"That was great, Mr. Threehorn!" Littlefoot cheered him with relief, still catching his breath.

"Hmph," he replied quietly. Then he turned to Asp and Syn. His expression was meek. He asked, "Are you alright?"

Syn turned to Asp expectantly, and he opened his mouth to speak, but she suddenly took a glance back to Mr. Threehorn and replied, "Yes. Thank you, sir, for saving us." Cera's father cracked a tiny smile but said nothing.

"Yes, you have my thanks as well," Asp spoke up. Then he seemed to be fighting something inside himself. At last, he concluded," I- I'm sorry I threw a rock at you before."

"Not to worry, boy," Mr. Threehorn comforted. "If someone was picking on one of my friends, I would have acted no differently. We got off to a bad start, but let's forget about that. Welcome to the Great Valley."

Asp and Syn bowed and Star said, "Thank you! This place is sooo awesome!" There was silence for a few moments, as no one had anything more to add to this, but at last, a departure had to be made.

"Well, I'd best get back to my family. Good-bye, kids" Mr. Threehorn told them, turning around.

"You have one neat dad," Asp announced. Cera couldn't help but smile at that.

"Wait," Asp said suddenly. "I had heard Sharpteeth couldn't get into the valley."

"We all thought that too," Littlefoot replied. "I guess they finally found a way."

"There are some small caves that lead from here to the Mysterious Beyond, but a Sharptooth hasn't come through one before that I can think of," Cera told them.

"That fastbiter probably just stumbled upon one of them. Maybe if we could find out which one it was, we could block it," Littlefoot suggested thoughtfully.

"Good idea, Littlefoot," Asp agreed.

"I love the idea! A lot, even! Let's do it this very minute!" Star exclaimed, jumping up and down.

The others grinned at her enthusiasm and started looking in the direction they saw him come from. They paced themselves, knowing just how long it could take to find where the opening was. The Great Valley wasn't exactly a small place. They trudged along the great wall, keeping as alert as possible despite being drained from the chase, and they were almost instantly delighted. They had been wrong. They found an opening already, right there, plain as day. It had only taken them a few seconds, and they sighed with relief. They looked this way and that, trying to find something to block the hole with, but there was nothing nearby to use.

"Maybe if we go inside a bit, we could find a way to block it from there," Littlefoot suggested. None of them objected, so they all walked inside.

The cave was very dark and spacious. As they moved along, stone teeth protruded from the ceiling above them, and small stones lay strewn about the ground. Littlefoot looked ahead while the others gazed above them and observed the ceiling's intricacies as best they could in the dim light. Star's mouth hung slightly agape at the beauty that nature had made in the stone.

"I bet there's a great echo in here!" Star exclaimed.

Suddenly, Asp thought to himself, "Oh no, Star, please don't…"

"HELLO!" the female longneck shouted gleefully. At first, the sound just bounced from wall to wall, nothing more. The others froze in silence, expecting some earthshake, but they soon sighed with relief when the sound died and nothing came of it. 

"In the future, Star-" Asp began to scold, but another voice cut him off. It was the voice of the cave, and it quickly began to cry, "I'm coming down!"

There was a slight rumbling at first, and then it grew more severe, shaking the kids and nearly throwing them off balance. A blunt stone tooth suddenly plummeted from above, and Syn noticed it right away. She shoved Asp away with her shoulder but put herself in harm's way in the process. The rock nicked a side of her head hard enough to knock her out and cut open a small gash. Blood came out at once and trickled down slowly.

Asp's first reaction was to turn to Star and scream, "You idiot! Are you that stupid!" His self-controlled tone was possible when Syn hadn't been harmed yet, but once she was hurt, his restraint was far out of reach. Star hung her head dejectedly, not sure of what to say. She felt absolutely horrible.

Finally, she opened her mouth and offered, "Put her on me. I'll carry her out."

"You've done enough!" Asp called over the roar of the cave in. "Leave her to me." Asp scooped her up and cradled her in his arms. The kids moved swiftly in silence, Star feeling worse as time dragged on. When they got out into the light, Asp finally noticed that she was bleeding. Her set her down gently and grabbed a large leaf. He rolled it up and wrapped it around her forehead, tying up the ends. It wasn't long before the expenditure of fluid had stopped. The others gathered around to see if Syn was okay for the most part, and they sighed with relief when she was just unconscious. The attention then shifted slightly.

"How did you get that leaf to stay like that?" Cera asked.

"I tied a knot," he replied, not taking his eyes off of her. "My father showed me how a long time ago." His tone was grave, and he placed a hand on her forehead.

Cera was about to further inquire about what a knot was, but then the ground started to shake outside of the cave as well. Asp was incredulous at the coincidence of causing a small earthshake only to immediately fall into a real one.

"Can we do anything in this place without getting into trouble! Seriously," he complained, arching his body over Syn's.

The kids were far from any trees, so they just stayed where they were, waiting for the earthshake to pass. Lying down to avoid falling over, it seemed that everything was going to be fine. There were no flying rocks or anything. Asp finally took his eyes off Syn and looked around to make sure nothing was coming towards them Then, suddenly, the ground started to open up- right where Syn was lying. She fell through at once and Asp frantically reached down to grab her, but his arm was too short for the distance she'd already made. He was about to scream until a neck was lowered, and Syn was grabbed by her tail feathers just in time, but the sudden new weight started pulling Star down too. Asp grabbed Star's tail, and Littlefoot began pulling on his feathers, Cera yanking on Littlefoot's tail, and with all their strength combined, they managed to get her out safely. When she was on the surface, the force they had been using suddenly caused them all to fall back, and they landed on their rears with a thud. The trembling finally stopped in the ground but not from the children.

"Nice job, Star! You saved her," Littlefoot complimented, sighing with relief. Star smiled but turned to Asp, waiting to hear what he had to say. She wanted him to like her again so badly.

"She wouldn't have been in danger if she wasn't unconscious from your carelessness," he said to her when he saw her expression which suddenly turned to grief. "Were you waiting for me to thank you? Don't hold your breath." Star lowered her head, and her eye lowered a tear.

Littlefoot opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't decide on what to say yet. He liked them both and didn't know who to stand up for. But he never got the chance to decide. Syn began to stir.

"Unh," she moaned, and her arms moved aimlessly as he body turned.

"Syn! Are you alright?" Asp asked her at once, leaning his face closer to her.

She quickly reached for the pain on her forehead and replied slowly, "Yeah, I think so." Relieved as Asp was, he had to change the subject to one that had been eating away at him.

"Why did you knock me out of the way? You could have had far worse than a bump and a cut."

"I'm sorry, Asp," Syn said with a sorrowful look towards him but an unrelenting tone. "I just can't stand to see you get hurt. Are you mad at me?" She asked that so pitifully that Asp nearly cried. He turned his head way for a moment then looked back at her.

Finally, he replied, "No, of course I'm not mad at you. Thank you. Thank you for saving me, it's just… Well, I don't like seeing you get hurt either."

"I understand. You know what this means, don't you?" Syn asked quietly.

Asp looked at her curiously.

She sat up and said, "You sooo owe me now," with a smirk.

Asp couldn't hold back a toothy grin, and he laughed. Then Star stepped forward. She felt very alone in this and needed to make things right or she was just going to lose it.

"I- I'm sorry," she managed to say meekly.

"It's alright," Syn told her kindly.

Asp was still angry at Star, so he was a little annoyed that she was forgiven so easily. But if Syn was okay with Star then he would try to be too.

"Let's go get that cave blocked now," Asp suggested. When the others started to follow him, he added, "Just take it easy, Syn. Lean on me if you feel weak." Syn nodded with a smile. And with that, they made their way back to the cave. Several extra rocks were scattered about the ground from the cave in, but not enough to slow them down much. This time, Star didn't utter a sound. They all walked in silence for a few minutes, the mood of the group rather low, and eventually, the cave divided into two directions.

"Should we split up?" Littlefoot asked the group.

"I guess we have no choi- wait." Asp had noticed something, and he bent over and picked it up off the ground lying right before one of the paths.

"A leaf?" Cera asked curiously, getting a closer look at it.

"It probably wasn't dropped by that fastbiter," Littlefoot remarked. "What would one want with green food?"

Asp put a hand on his chin.

"Perhaps- Perhaps it wasn't used for food…" The others looked at him for a moment then it dawned on them.

"A nest!" the others said in unison and fear.

The kids proceeded farther down the path, and they came across more and more bits of foliage. Their hearts were beating with anticipation. Were there more fastbiters lurking in the shadows, waiting to feast on them at any given moment? They heard nothing, which made their stomachs uneasy. They treaded lightly, afraid of making even the slightest noise. When Star hit her toe on a rock, Asp quickly covered her mouth to muffle her scream. She nodded at him gratefully. Finally, they came upon it, and their paranoia was realized. Air was blowing from deeper in, explaining why the leaves were scattered about through the passageway. The children then looked down in horror at what were lying around the room- egg shells.

**Chapter End**

"Hi. I hope I'm not bothering anyone, but I felt you guys should have a preview of what's going to happen next time on Familiar Love. We save some young ones and get saved ourselves. Thank you for hearing me out. My name is Syn, and it was nice to meet you all. Oh, and in case you were worried about me, I'm fine, really.


	6. The Confused Savior

**Chapter V: The Confused Savior**

"That fastbiter- he must have been their dad," Asp said thoughtfully with a mix of empathy and grief in his voice.

"Yeah, and I wonder how far away the mom is," Cera replied worriedly, feeling nothing for the beast that tried to eat her.

The five of them stood side by side staring at the shells. The only noise in the hallway was a slow dripping of water from a stone tooth overhead that gave the dim cave an eerie feel. Even their breathing was soundless. The water was trickling away into the dirt, but at the same time, the constant rhythm slowly began filling up their tension. They looked in different directions, skin tingling at the thought that at any moment, vicious teeth could lunge out at them at any given moment. Cera gulped so carefully that none of them heard it. After a couple of minutes, when nothing happened, they began to relax but only slightly.

"Do you hear that?" Littlefoot suddenly asked the others. Asp, Syn, and Star jumped, and they all paused to listen. At first, all that entered their ears was the dripping noise, but upon more careful attention, it sounded like steady breathing. "Let's go check it out," he suggested, inching his way closer towards the room ahead. Asp started to follow then turned back when everyone else did too.

"It could be the mom, so you girls wait here. Littlefoot and I can check it out." Cera had no objection at all, but Star looked disappointed. She wanted to ask if she could please go anyway, but she dared not anger Asp further. The little yellowbelly started to move slowly beside Littlefoot, but Syn clutched his arm.

He turned back to her then she slowly let go after a moment and whispered with a look of dread and a tone of concern, "Please, be careful."

Asp smiled and replied, "You don't have to worry about me. I'm very careful." He started to move forward while still looking back at her and as a result noticed too late to stop. He walked right into the wall of the cave and bounced back onto his rear. He looked up at Syn sheepishly who folded her arms and tried suppressing a smile. She never knew if he did that on purpose to cheer her up or if he was just being clumsy again, but it didn't matter. Her tension has eased up to the point that it barely existed. She held out her hand to help him up, and when he got back to his feet, he concluded, "Okay, so I'm _usually_ careful. Whatever." Then he chuckled.

The boys began making their way deeper into the cave. They moved carefully, always glancing about. The air was a bit muggy, and Asp cleared his throat, getting a "Sh" from Littlefoot. Frowning at him, the two of them kept moving. They eventually came into a wide room, and a small beam of light from high up on the wall shown down near the center of the floor. It reflected against billions of dust particles. However, it wasn't the dirty air that caught their interest.

What they focused on made them freeze in place- literally. Asp still had one foot in the air. A female fastbiter was lying on her side on the ground, nursing her young, and her nipples were bulging with fresh milk. Sleek with a light green underbelly and forest green outer skin, she was very beautiful, at least, to another fastbiter. Her eyes had the lids over them, and her head was resting on her arm. Her claws had little nibble marks in them, clearly from her babies mistaking them for tits at first. There was neither a scar nor blemish on her, so she was clearly well cared for by her mate. Or was, rather.

Her children looked mostly the same for now. Two were yellow and one was green like her mother. The two yellow ones were different genders, and the boy was the smallest by an obvious margin. The boy had his weight resting on his yellow sister who would occasionally stop and lick his face, and the green one lied on the opposite end, far from the others, as she nursed. Some aspects of their future were clear already.

Their mother seemed to be asleep, which perplexed the children; they had never seen a mother nurse while unconscious. They scooted a little closer, and spotted a large, stone tooth lying on the ground near her head. It was full of cracks, but not shattered.

"Uh oh," Asp whimpered, not from fear but sorrow, and Littlefoot turned to him. "If that rock had fallen onto the hard ground, it would have broken into pieces. That fastbiter- those hatchlings' mother- she isn't moving at all. She's dead." Littlefoot turned back sharply to her and gulped.

Asp was right. Her body was not moving up and down from breathing no matter how long they waited. That stone tooth must have fallen directly on her head and killed her. The babies were too young to understand death so were just sucking away as usual, cooing happily all the while. The room was full of sucking sounds, a heavy air, worry, and compassion. These four things mixed together in the boys' minds until they shifted awkwardly from the overwhelming sensation.

"The poor things," Asp said sadly. "Do you think any recent mothers in the Great Valley would be willing to nurse them until they got older?"

Littlefoot nearly choked on his breath and stared at Asp when he finished doing so. "There is no way any of the grownups would let one of these guys _into_ the Great Valley, let alone _help_ them," Littlefoot replied incredulously at the question. If not for the seriousness of the situation, he'd've thought Asp was joking. "If Mr. Threehorn saw them, he'd smoosh them on the spot."

"Then what are we supposed to do, huh? Leave them here to die?" Asp asked, passion flaring. They were just babies! How could they do nothing?

"I don't plan to leave them here, but we can't care for them either." Then Littlefoor paused, deep in memory. "My friends and I tried caring for a sharptooth once before, and babies definitely need an adult." He stopped talking momentarily again, now thinking of the present. "Maybe- maybe we can find another fastbiter to care for them, I dunno, out in the Mysterious Beyond, maybe?"

"It's likely that a random fastbiter would want nothing to do with someone else's kids without an explanation. And, uh, we can't exactly tell one they're orphans."

"I don't know then, but let's at least get them out of here."

The two kids, concerns about being attacked completely gone, quickly returned to the others and told them what they saw. Syn covered her mouth in shock, and Star moaned, "The poor little things…"

"Exactly what I said…" Asp thought to himself, getting more annoyed with her. He had tried his best, but he was still upset for what she had done to Syn earlier. At this point, he could easily find irrational reasons to be further angered. Star being seen as caring to the others before he seemed that way by using the same words he had used earlier just set him on edge. He would feel stupid for saying, "I feel that way too," for it bothered him to find a connection to someone he wasn't happy with, and he knew he'd look stupid if he just blurted out, "I said that first!" so he said nothing and silently stewed.

"You really plan to haul us all into the Mysterious Beyond just to leave some baby fastbiters that'll die anyway?" Cera asked in disbelief.

"We may find someone who'll care for them," Littlefoot told her kindly but sternly. "We should at least try." His voice was almost pleading.

"And I still say it's pointless," Cera argued. She couldn't see why anyone would feel for things that were going to grow up to eat them. It was like befriending death itself, or at least strife. She wanted her life to be as carefree as possible, and while she never wanted to kill anyone, the less dangers the better.

"I'm going to help them," Littlefoot declared, disregarding her replies. "Whoever else cares can come along." He eyed Cera unpleasantly with a complete lack of subtlety and then began walking back to the baby fastbiters. Star immediately began to follow, directly behind him to the point she was nearly stepping on his tail, and Cera sighed then starting coming as well. Asp would have followed right away, but there was a reason he hesitated. He wanted to help, but knew the others could handle it on their own. This, combined with needing to know if Syn felt up to it, made him wait for a reaction from her. If she wanted to stay back from fear or because of her injury, he knew it would be best if those three got the trio of babies and he looked after Syn. He stared into her eyes until she walked past him, taking ahold of his hand in the process. Grinning, he walked beside her.

When the five of them got to the cave, the two hatchlings were resting soundly after their meal. The fresh, warm milk had put them into a deep sleep. Star immediately said, "Awww!" but quiet enough not to wake them. Grief filled her heart out of concern for what their future held. She approached them first, looked at them for only a moment, and then nuzzled her cheek against each one. The male baby in the group reached his tongue out and licked her cheek instinctively without waking up. Star began to cry.

Being the only two with hands, Syn picked up the green one, and Asp scooped up the yellow ones. None of them stirred. The eight of them slowly made their way deeper into the cave towards the scent of fresh air until they arrived into the Mysterious Beyond. They looked out into the desolate wasteland, and their hope became like the scenery.

"I never thought I'd see the day that we actually went _looking _for a sharptooth," Cera complained, but you could tell she starting to feel good about helping these babies after all. Littlefoot chuckled at her remark.

The landscape the children traversed was not pleasant at all. The ground was hard, barely absorbing their footsteps, and hot from the bright circle, and there were many stones about. With all the extra weight, Asp stumbled twice on some stones, the second time nearly falling forward onto his passengers. Star got in front and caught him, but he quickly jerked back without a thank you, only an abrupt nod. There walked for several minutes, and there was no breeze to cool their weary faces and nowhere to seek shade. The gurgling of some tar pits provided the only sound to be heard besides their voices, as the children remained quiet; they didn't want to wake the young ones. As they pressed on, they were drawing near to some familiar faces…

* * *

><p>"There's no green food around anywhere," whined a voice<p>

"It's better to starve than eat that rubbish," argued another.

"Speak for yourself."

A glare from Ozzie shut his brother up quickly, and he cowered with a nervous chuckle, followed by his belly rumbling. Ozzie scoffed, but then his growled as well. They stood in a wooded area, though the plants were all dead, some fallen over, from lack of water. Between them and some trees, tarp pits bubbled and splashed on their right side, and otherwise, there was only ugly brown soil and pebbles as far as the eye could see. Ozzie stomped his foot impatiently and stated as a fact what he assumed.

"There has got to be some eggs around here somewhere!"

His brother approached him slowly, weak from hunger, and asked in a mild, pitiful voice, "But what if there aren't, Oz?" He gazed pleadingly into his brother's eyes, hoping with all of his heart for a break from his egg obsession.

"Did you hear what I said, leaf lobber?" he growled back angrily. "I said there MUST be some eggs around here. Must doesn't leave room for ifs."

"Whatever you say," Strut replied in a depressed mannerism. His shoulders and head slumped forward, and his voice lacked all energy and hope.

Suddenly, movement caught Ozzie's eyes. He quickly turned to directly face what he had noticed, hoping it to be an adult with a possible nest. Though his discovery was a disappointment, his eyes widened nonetheless.

"Look there," he told his brother, grabbing his face and turning it for him. Strut squinted in the daylight until he saw them.

"Hm? Oh! It's some of those rotten kids from before. We nearly got eaten 'cause of them!" he cried indignantly. In all honesty, he didn't hold a grudge against Littlefoot or any of his friends. However, knowing that his brother did and desperately wanting his approval, he had to fabricate an emotional connection to negate his alienated sensation with his flesh and blood.

"They're all alone this time," Ozzie remarked, rubbing his hands together with a devious tone. "No one around to jump in and save them." He clearly remembered Chomper and his parents coming to their rescue long ago, and he began slowly making his way towards the children, trying not to make any noise and staying obstructed by the trees. He noticed that some of them were new faces, but revenge against two was better than nothing. However, Strut grabbed his arm, stopping him. "What is it now?" he demanded, jerking it away. In reply, Strut pointed down to a small shrub of tall grass. Ozzie slapped his face and retorted, "How many times must I tell you to stay from green foo-"

"No, Ozzie," Strut interrupted softly, trying to ignore the pain of the blow. "It's what's _inside_ the bush."

Ozzie took a more careful look at it, and five objects nestled inside made his mouth water. His drool was quickly licked away, but more came. Strut grinned happily with great satisfaction and hope, waiting for a "Good job, Strut," but it never came. Ozzie glanced up and looked farther into the distance to be safe and spotted the mother far off coming back. He quickly pulled his brother behind a big tree and put a finger to his mouth for him to be quiet. She was easy to see, as she was deep crimson in her coloration with dark purple stripes on her back. Sniffing around, looking for a meal, she was heading slowly back towards her nest. Ozzie then grinned evilly to Strut's dismay and hatched a scheme.

He hurried back towards the nest and quickly snatched three eggs then ran back to their hiding place. Strut applauded his brother's swiftness and stealth, but he hushed him. Handing Strut one of the eggs, he sat down with the other two said, "Now we have dinner and some entertainment. Just watch," he instructed, taking a bite into the egg. The gooey yolk was paradise in his mouth. The rich flavor and smooth texture made his eyes sparkle, his tongue dance merrily, and quenched his dry throat at the same time. He spit out some of the shell as he got comfortable. His brother sat beside him and reluctantly bit into his. The gooeyness made him want to vomit, but he wanted his brother to be pleased so ate with concealed displeasure.

The mother fastbiter finally arrived back at her nest. There was nothing around to hunt, not even some insects, so she decided to save her strength for now. She was very hungry, but that fact quickly slipped from her mind. Three of her children were gone. Her mind started panic as her heart skipped a beat, but her fear turned to fury, as this was clearly no accident. If her babies had hatched, there would be egg shells, and there was no decline for them to roll away. She roared in rage and glanced all around her, sniffing the air fervently.

"That sounded like one angry fastbiter," Asp said, stopping, and Syn paused along with him.

"Yeah, no duh," Cera commented casually, having heard too many sharpteeth to be frightened without seeing them first.

The yellowbellies hesitated, and for good reason, but Littlefoot looked back and coaxed them on.

"We came here to find a fastbiter for these little guys. There's no turning back now after coming this far."

"Fine, so let's set them in a place where that one we heard will be sure to see them then get out of here," Asp told them. "There's no reason to stay in a place where a fastbiter is near. Whoever it is should smell them and check them out." He and Syn set the babies down gently who finally awoke in the process. Littlefoot wasn't sure if just setting them down would be enough, but he had no better idea so went and hid behind some trees with the rest of them to see what would happen. Star, knowing how much she would miss their cute faces, took one final glance back at them. Her eyes quickly widened in fear, and she stopped, skidding to a halt before starting to run back to them. They were crawling right into a tar pit! The others turned and saw what she was doing so quickly went to help. The pit was surrounded by tall, dry grass so the children hadn't noticed they'd set them so close to one. Asp felt guilty for his dangerous lack of perception but felt no need to say anything.

As they were making their way back, Asp distracted by his own carelessness, he ironically failed to notice a small but deep hole in front of him. Trying to stop at the last moment when it caught his eyes, he stuck his leg out to balance but had too much momentum from running. His leg went straight into the hole, wedging it in far and hard, and he let out a yelp and struggled to free himself.

"I'm fine, just get those kids!" he called to the others who had stopped and turned when he cried out. But it was too late. The babies had reached the tar and had fallen in, screaming in fear as they sank.

The four children reached the pit at once and starting pulling hard to get the near-buried hatchlings out before they drowned. Star reached her neck in and grabbed the green one while Syn took hold of the yellow ones as Littlefoot pulled back on her tail feathers to help her with all the new weight. Cera kept an eye out, having no other use, and it was fortunate she did so. The mother fastbiter had been coming closer to their scent and had found Asp standing right out in the open. The grass around the tar shielded the others from her eyes for now. All of her suspicions and rage were focused on that yellowbelly, and her eyes cried out for blood.

She started to run at him, mouth opened wide and claws curled out to attack, and he shouted, "Syn, help!" As the carnivore was nearly upon him, his mind could formulate no more words, only pure terror. "Ahhh!" He shielded his face with his hands instinctively, but he knew that that would do him no good.

The others had managed to get the babies out, and hearing Asp yelp, Syn grabbed the hatchling from Star, clutching all three in her arms, and ran as fast as she could back to him. Despite the weight, her speed was amazing, powered by a large rush of adrenaline. She practically soared over the ground, avoiding every stone. She got in between the fastbiter and yellowbelly just in time, and the mother halted in surprise at the sudden obstacle. Two more seconds, and Asp would have been food. All the kids' hearts racing, Syn extended her arms, showing the mother the babies. She then closed her eyes, fearful of what the mother would do next.

She froze and looked at the three newborns. "They're covered in tar… Did they hatch early and walk into a tar pit?" she wondered. Looking nearby, she saw the others coming into view, also with tar on them. "Did they just- save my babies?" Overcome with relief, she completely forgot her logical observation from before of there being no shells. She gently took them from Syn's hands, believing them to be her own. In a sense, they were. Turning away, she slowly walked back to her nest, licking the tar off of them gingerly.

Syn gave Asp's leg a sharp tug, and it came loose. He cried out in pain, but he wasn't really injured, just scraped. She smiled at him, folded her arms, and said, "That makes two you owe me."

Asp laughed, shook his head, and then looked up to her. "Thank you," he told her with vast sense of sincerity. But his expression showed more gratitude than any words he could have said right then, and they hugged each other.

"You're welcome," Syn replied as Littlefoot, Cera, and Star came over to them with relief all over their faces.

"I guess she was just happy to have some new kids," Littlefoot mused, turning to her as she walked back to her nest.

"Yeah, but that's odd. She looked at them, kinda, lovingly, like she thought they were hers all along. Something's not right," Asp wondered aloud thoughtfully, hand on his chin.

"You bet something's not right! You kids being alive," a voice called from behind them. Two eggstealers suddenly emerged from behind some trees. They had been moving unnoticed closer and closer after their meal, and Ozzie, outraged that his plan failed, came at the kids directly. His face made her look deranged, a scary sight indeed.

"You guys again!" Littlefoot exclaimed, looking at Ozzie and backing up with Cera. His heart simply wasn't getting a break, as it had barely slowed down from the fastbiter incident.

"You know him?" Star asked, looking from them to Littlefoot. She glanced at Ozzie then Strut and added, "Something tells me he isn't very nice…" Then to herself only, "But the other one doesn't seem so bad." She had gazed at their faces and could see who really had a dark agenda. She felt that Strut just seemed sad.

"You can say that again," Cera cut in, voice rising but still backing up. "So what are you two doing out here?" Her tone was threatening, but anyone could tell it was her who felt a loss of control.

"Dinner," Ozzie replied darkly. "I was hoping that stealing that fastbiter's eggs would not only serve as an excellent meal but would enrage her enough to tear you to shreds."

"Now I understand! That fastbiter _did_ think they were hers because you ate three of her eggs!" Asp shouted, horrified.

"Correct. Now, I think we'll finish where she left off." Ozzie rubbed his hands together then started to move menacingly closer to the kids, who now all began to back up, closer and closer to the tar pit. To everyone's surprise, Strut stepped in between them.

"Hold off, Oz. Let's just get out of here. Every time we try to get these kids, we nearly get done in ourselves." His voice was shaky, as nothing good ever came of standing up to his brother, but he'd seen too much bad luck with this lot to want to try anything directly.

"Get out of the way!" Ozzie shouted loudly enough to be heard over a great distance. "Again, there is no one around to save them this time." He knocked his brother down to the ground with a thud and continued to advance towards the frightened kids. Ozzie noticed a shadow moving alongside him and believed his brother had decided to help.

"Ozzie…!" Strut suddenly trailed off in terror.

He quickly turned, as Strut's voice had come from the opposite direction of the shadow. His mouth dropped open, and he yelped, as the fastbiter mom from before was back, and she was standing right beside him, looking furiously into his eyes. She roared loudly in his face. He backed away slowly then broke off into a dead run, her following speedily, with Strut trailing from behind in dismay.

"Ozzie, wait for me!" he called to him.

The fastbiter continued to roar as the chase continued, Ozzie barely avoiding her snapping jaws as they eventually vanished from sight. If any of the kids were sharpteeth and close enough to hear her whisper, they would have known she had said, "I have repaid my debt."

When they all had returned to the Great Valley, Littlefoot was the first to speak. He cleared his throat from being parched and announced, "Thank you all for your help. We did a really good thing just now." Asp and Star were smiling, Syn was too but also looking down and playing with the dirt with her foot, and Cera looked only grinned on the inside. Finally, he concluded with, "I'm sure we'll never have to move fastbiters out of the Great Valley again, so that kind of adventure is behind us." Oh, the irony…

**Chapter End**

"How's it going, awesome readers! I want to say hello, so… HELLOOOOO! There, got that out, and boy did it feel good! Now why am I here again…? Oh yeah! I'm going to give you a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. These meanies come and are, well, really mean! And being mean isn't cool, not one bit! Bye-bye for now. Oh, and don't forget my wonderful name, Stardipper, or I'll- be sad…"


	7. Revenge of Old

Author's Note: As I mentioned in older works of mine, this site for some reason removes the question mark when I put one with an exclamation mark, so when you see just an exclamation mark with a question, that is not a typo. I had a question mark in my document, but this site apparently doesn't like that.

**Chapter VI: Revenge of Old**

It was the night circle's turn to light up the sky, so darkness had drawn near. The sky was barely littered with stars, and the moon was still hungry, only half full. It was a cool night, far from cold, but no one could argue that a cozy warmth hung in the air as well. It was just at that temperature that made you shiver just slightly but not enough that a teeth chattering would accompanty it. A tiny swarm of beetles flew by the outside of the cave just as the children were standing at the exit. They did not proceed, however, as they still had a job to do.

"Now, we have to find a way to block up this opening," Littlefoot instructed, looking around and perplexed at the same time. He wished that there was a big rock somewhere inside, but after all their searching, there were just tiny pebbles and barely larger shards from the stone teeth overhead that had fallen earlier.

Star looked up at the ceiling and the lack of hanging rocks and stuck her tongue out sideways in thought, wetting her left cheek. Her eyes narrowed than widened back just slightly.

"I have an idea!" she suddenly told them. "I just hope I remember right…" With a startling abruptness, she turned and hurried back down the narrow tunnel that led to the wide-open room, the others following briskly behind. Star lifted her head once more, looking about with her mouth comfortably hanging open somewhat, and finally grinned. "I did! Sweet!" She jumped up and down in victory.

"So what's your big plan?" Asp questioned her with a complete lack of enthusiasm, faith, and hope. He could have hidden his lingering grudge with ease, but that would have allotted him no satisfaction. He was still mad at Star, and he wanted her to know. There was this struggle going on inside of him to just forget it like Syn had, but she was gentle when she gripped things; he simply could not let matters go, not just like that. There was no plot for revenge, but he intended to sulk until his emotions ran dry. Syn and her safety were too important to him.

Ignoring his tone, she replied, "Remember what my shouting did earlier in here?" Her cheerful tone made Asp snort.

"As if I could forget," he muttered. He was feeling stupid now, as he thrived on that "cool" persona, but he couldn't bring himself to stop yet.

"Well, I think we should _all_ do that! All those stone teeth will fall and block the opening, but we'd be safe because there aren't any left to fall on us in this passageway," she suggested.

"Great idea, Star!" Littlefoot exclaimed. Asp thought so too, but he'd never admit it.

The kids all stood at the end of the tunnel, looking out into the big room section of the cave. There was silence at first, as most of the kids wanted to plan some noise to make or words to say to avoid sounding silly, but Star wasn't nervous at all.

"WOO HOO!" she shouted. She jumped up high right as she yelled, landing when the final noise escaped her mouth. Nothing happened.

"Tree stars!" Littlefoot called out, following her example. Cera simply screamed a long, drawn out, "Ah!" Syn was too shy to make noise in front of them all, and Asp was too stubborn to go along with an idea from Star. However, the three of them were enough. There was a low rumbling, and tiny fragments of rock began falling from overhead, and then the shaking grew louder and more violent as whole things started falling to the ground. The kids didn't have to move or anything, completely safe in the tunnel. Some stones smashed to bits, others remained intact, but they all served to fill up that wide opening which blocked the hole into the Mysterious Beyond by piling up. There was the other passage that the kids hadn't gone through, but with no fresh air coming from it, they'd known it wasn't something to worry about.

"Good job, everyone!" Littlefoot complimented, his smile shining before them all.

"Whaddaya mean?" Cera demanded, looking in Asp and Syn's direction. "Those two didn't do anything."

Syn lowered her head and Asp retorted, "I said before that she's shy."

"Yeah, so what's your excuse?" Cera questioned. She didn't sound cynical but instead just genuinely curious. This made Asp feel more awkward.

"I- we accomplished the mission, so who cares?" Asp folded his arms and stared at her with furrowed brows. Star walked over to Asp. He turned his head to her- then she kissed his face, making him fall on his rear in shock. "Ugh, what was that for!" he demanded, rubbing his cheek.

"Aw, it didn't work… I thought a kiss would cheer ya up," she replied, downcast, the top of her lower mouth extended out to complete her pitiful look.

"Of all the stupid-"

"It's getting late, guys. Let's head for home," Littlefoot cut in. Asp glared at Star one final time before they all followed Littlefoot out of the cave. Asp's hands were pursed against his sides as he kicked a rock, and Syn kept glancing at him worriedly. He seemed so intent in his thoughts that Star began creeping up on him, clearly to startle him with a "Boo!" or some kind of exclamation, but Syn quickly made eye contact and shook her head.

As the group continued into the valley, Cera frowned slightly in confusion and asked, "This isn't the way to your nest, Littlefoot. Where are we going?"

"Oh, right, sorry," he responded sheepishly, grinning and looking down. "I just thought that maybe we could grab a tree sweet real fast before we go to sleep."

Cera grinned. "You and your sweet tooth."

They came across a grove of trees, each extending succulent fruit from their branches. Cera reared up and was about to ram one when Littlefoot quickly but quietly said, "Wait! A lot of dinosaurs are sleeping right now. We shouldn't make any noise."

"Fine," she said with a rolling of her eyes.

"Don't worry though," he continued. "I see that a few of them are already on the ground." As the children looked about, they found five of them, but only four were undamaged and ripe to eat. The other was an ugly brown, was leaking juice, and had swarming buzzers crawling all over it. Needless to say, none of them were interested in that one.

Asp wasn't the best with math, but it wasn't too hard to see the only way Syn was going to get one.

"I'm good," Asp told them in earnest. "The rest if you go ahead." Littlefoot, Cera, and Star thought nothing of it, not exchanging glances or anything, and bent over and grabbed one with their mouths. Star wasn't quite as dainty and got the juices sliding down her chin, but she licked them off quickly. Syn picked the last one up slowly and looked at it resting in her hand before a quick glance at Asp. She tossed it into the air once and caught it with the same hand. Grinning, she finally turned to him. Her expression was of understanding and devious in nature.

"You go ahead, Asp. I'm not very hungry," she told him, holding the fruit out, and Asp alone noticed the coy tone she hid underneath the thick layer of generosity.

"Dinosaurs always have room for a tree sweet. I'm fine, you go ahead," he insisted.

"If that's true, then you must too. Please," and Syn pressed the food against his chest gently but insistently.

Wrapping his fingers around it, he pushed it back and replied, "You love these more than I do. I would rather watch you enjoy it than to enjoy it myself." Asp wasn't budging the width of a blade of grass.

Syn sighed softly. She clutched the fruit in both hands then pulled in opposite directions, broking it in half. There was a splatter of juice that trickled to the ground. Handing him one side, she said, "There. Now we can both have a snack."

Asp grinned at her solution. "Thanks," he replied. He loved the way she handled their "disputes."

After they all ate, they got a quick drink of water and parted ways. Cera went to her father and the rest of them followed Littlefoot. As they neared his nest, Star told them, "Thank you sooo much for the offer! Really! But, I decided that I should sleep away from everyone."

"Good," Asp muttered but Syn poked his shoulder abruptly.

"Why, do you turn in your sleep or snore or something?" Littlefoot asked. It didn't matter what she did. She was still welcome; he was only curious.

"Turn? Maybe, I'm not sure. I'll have to pay more attention when I snooze. Do I snore? You bet! It took a long time before my parents got used to it, so I wouldn't want to keep you all up. Then again…" she said slyly, eyeing Littlefoot, "I suppose you really don't need your beauty sleep…"

In the pale glow of the night circle, Littlefoot's face could be seen turning a deep shade of red.

He quickly cleared his throat and said, "If you change your mind, you're always welcome to stay with us."

"I'll keep that in mind. Ta-ta!" she called, waving at him with her tail. Littlefoot stared at her as she found a place near the great wall until finally Asp began waving his hand in front of the longneck's face.

"Anybody home?" Asp asked.

Littlfoot snapped back into focus, and wondered, "Uh, what were we doing again?"

"You were going to take us to your nesting place," Asp reminded. "But you're more than welcome to be a typical male and stare at your girlfriend with your mouth hanging open."

"What?" he asked immediately. "Who…?"

"You're a boy alright," Asp replied in conclusion, as if there was any question. "I mention a girl you obviously like, and you suddenly can't form complete sentences." When Littlefoot just stared at him blankly, he tilted his head back a forth a few times in the direction of Star until the longneck got the picture.

"No!" Littlefoot immediately denied. She is not my girlfriend!" Asp folded his arms, and Syn posed a big smile for the defensive longneck. He was not going to let these two yellowbellies continue this silly discussion a moment longer, however. In a completely casual but serious tone of voice, he looked ahead and said, "Okay, it's just over here. We need to get some sleep. We're all obviously tired and not thinking clearly."

Asp gave Syn a look that said, "Riiight," and they all followed him to where his grandparents normally slept. He always found it amusing when dinosaurs wanted to avoid conflict by saying "we" when they clearly had certain ones in mind and felt innocent themselves.

"There you are, Littlefoot. I was wondering when you'd get back," his grandfather told him, his loud steps echoing softly as he approached. Apparently, his grandfather had stayed up to make sure he got to bed. "Ah, brought some friends for a sleepover, have you?" He smiled warmly at the yellowbellies.

"Yes, grandpa."

"Very well, then. It's quite late, so let's all get settled in." He turned around and started heading back to his mate.

Littlefoot walked over to his usual spot, turned twice, and then lied down. Asp and Syn lied down together just a short distance away, putting Littlefoot between them and his grandparents. As the dinosaurs were drifting off, a low rumbling could be heard. It sounded like a hopper was trying to sing while choking and being tortured. Then it suddenly stopped only to resume again. This repeated many times. Littlefoot quickly raised his head and looked in the direction of the noise. He could see a small body silhouetted in the distance lying against the great wall.

"This may be a long night," Littlefoot thought to himself, putting his head back down to the ground and covering it with his front feet. "Star wasn't kidding."

**The next morning…**

"Mother, it's you!" Littlefoot cried, so overcome with joyous emotion that tears cascaded down his face into a small puddle on the ground. There she was, the warm face and strong body he had seen upon birth, standing before him. She smiled at him so deeply that he almost melted. His heart wasn't pounding but rather leaping in a merry dance. He was so enthralled at being reunited that his feet wouldn't move. He stood there, sobbing like a baby and smiling the biggest grin he'd ever made.

"My dear, sweet boy," she responded, coming towards him and lowering her head to meet his. They nuzzled and stood there together for some time, Littlefoot finally recalling what true happiness felt like. But he felt dizzy too. This didn't make sense. How was she here, standing before him? He had to know.

"Mother? How are you here? That sharptooth- he- he killed you…"

Her eyes glowed like two stars in the sky, and she answered him tenderly.

"You wished on a shooting star, didn't you?" With that, she picked him up by the scruff of his back and set him on her head.

"Yes! Yes I did!" He leapt up excitedly a couple of times, slipping and sliding down her neck onto her back. They both laughed heartily.

"So here I am to watch over my beloved Littlefoot once again. Thank you so much for bringing me back." Now it was her turn to start crying.

"Oh mother. Mother!" Littlefoot cried some more with joy. His mother moved her face around to his, and he reared up, putting his front feet on her face and kissing it.

"Aw, you're so sweet," she said to him. However, her voice sounded a bit different when she said that, but he assumed she was choked up from emotion. Littlefoot thought his tears had fallen into a bad place because his surroundings got a little blurry. He reached up with his front foot and started rubbing his eyes. He didn't want his mother to leave his sight for a moment. Oh, how wonderful, how fulfilled he felt again! Believing his vision was no longer obscured by the fluid, he quickly reopened his eyes to see Star looked down at him with moisture on her cheek.

The young longneck let out a startled cry of disbelief and grief.

"Did I- did I just kiss YOU!" he asked, dumbfounded, refusing to accept the truth.

"Yep! Thank you very much. You just made my day!" she told him gratefully, hopping up and down. "I came to wake you up at the perfect moment!"

Littlefoot's eyes finally filled with real fluid, and he began sniffing repeatedly. His nose began to run as he just stood there, missing her again already.

"AW!" Star exclaimed worriedly. "What's the matter?"

"I-" he said between sobs. "I thought you were my mother."

"Kids can't have kids, silly," Star giggled. "Now how could I be your mother?" Her tone was silly at this point.

Despite the emotions screaming in his head, Littlefoot just couldn't help but laugh at Star's comment. Whether intentional or not, she had made him feel better almost instantly, and so reality was accepted once again.

He wiped his eyes and said, "I was having a dream." Then he quickly changed the subject. He could NOT give Star time to ask what it was about or the tears would come back. "So, how did you sleep?"

"It wasn't hard. I just lied against that wall, and it happened all on its own," she answered, giving him a funny look and tilting her head.

Littlefoot laughed again. "No, I mean how _well_ did you sleep? Did you have a good rest?"

"Oh! Yeppers, I had a great night's sleep, thank ya. Yourself?"

Littlefoot yawned at that point. Star's snoring had kept him up for a while, but he still had slept a while once he'd gotten used to it. Waking him up early hadn't helped either, but he didn't want to embarrass her so simply replied, "I slept well, thanks." With nothing more to say, the two of them stood there in silence, Star eventually turning slightly red as she continued to stare at him...

* * *

><p>Three flyers were soaring over the Great Valley. Their figures created three equivalent-sized shadows that occasionally passed over the residents. No one looked up though. Everyone took the sudden shade for clouds. They saw many dinosaurs down below, young and old, some of which were still asleep. A young flyer was off on his own picking a few berries. He was tan and yawning. When he finished, he took in a deep breath of air once more. He was very still very groggy, having been woken up by hunger. He was yawning so hard that it made his eyes tear up a little bit. He rubbed with them with one wing and began scooping the berries up with the other. He wanted a nice little pile to carry to a shady spot where he could eat out of the violent sun. The three visitors were not so keen on his plans though.<p>

One of them swooped down, picked him up in his mouth so no screaming would commence, and flew back into the sky. You could see the struggle going on inside as bits of his beak would bulge out momentarily from blows of the child. Still, his captor kept his mouth clamped tight.

Another one of the flyers saw a swimmer child soaking her feet while sitting at a watering hole's edge. She was gently kicking them back and forth, causing ripples in the clear fluid. She looked a lot like Ducky, almost to the point one might think there was a relation. But no, she was born of some other family and was simply a look alike. He too swooped down, swiftly and stealthily, grasped the child in his jaws so she couldn't yelp, and then returned to the others in the sky.

"That's good enough," the one who didn't grab anyone said. "Now head back and I'll take care of the rest." The other two nodded, their mouths' contents still kicking and clawing from the inside, and began flying away. The one remaining swooped down and landed behind Littlefoot, making no attempt to hide his presence. The two longnecks heard the light thud in the grass and turned to him at once.

"Ooh, a prickly flyer! Neat!" Star exclaimed, eyeing him with a fascinated expression. Littlefoot's gaze and emotions were not so cheerful, however. His mouth hung open slightly before he found his voice.

"Ichy! What are you doing here?" he asked with bared teeth. He leaned forward, his tail up in the air, tensed for self-defense.

"Aw... I guess you two aren't friends," Star said sadly.

"You bet we aren't!" Littlefoot nearly shrieked. Turning briefly to Star, he explained, "He and his bellydragger friend tried eating me and my friends a long time ago." Glaring back at the flyer, he repeated, "I said, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, just a few little things," he said casually, looking with indifference at his wing tips then rubbing them against his chest. He began walking in a circle around the kids with an expression that made them almost shudder. "Mm, some sightseeing, exercise, socializing, and oh, let's not forget revenge." He emphasized the final word with a raised tone.

"You'll get exercise alright when the grownups chase you outta here," Littlefoot threatened. He opened his mouth to shout when Ichy shushed him.

"Ah ah ah. You wouldn't want anything to happen to some of the kids here, do you?" His nonchalance had returned wasn't letting up.

"Wha- what do you mean?" he asked, turning a slight shade of pale.

"I made a couple of- new buddies. They- borrowed- a few of the young ones, but don't worry. Do as I say, and they'll be let go." He went back to brushing his end feathers across his chest, seeming very cool and collected.

Littlefoot charged at him, but he flew out of the way in a small flurry of feathers.

"Why should I trust you?" he demanded.

"Do you- have a choice?" Ichy asked in an innocent tone.

"You may be lying about taking anyone away. This could all be a bluff."

"Let's see now," Ichy began, wing on his chin as he looked into the air. "If you don't come and I'm lying, no harm done. But, if you don't come and my words are true, you'll have their blood on your feet. Feeling up to taking the chance?" He looked at Littlefoot intently then shook and lowered his head mildly in expectance of an answer.

Littlefoot clenched his jaw and stomped his foot in frustration but remained where he was and said nothing.

"That's what I thought," Ichy said, satisfied. "Now, leave the Great Valley. It doesn't matter which way you take; I'll find you. You can bring as many friends as you want but no adults are to know of this. Are we understood?"

"Yeah, except for one thing. Are you going to go after my other friends too? If so, then no. You get me alone or nobody."

"Don't worry. I said you can bring as many kids as you want, and zero is an amount. As the leader, you'll at least suffice. I'll see you later, kid." He opened his wings and took to the skies. Littlefoot just stared after him, at a loss for words, but he hadn't much time to contemplate before his thoughts had a new focus. There was a sudden rustling in some bushes behind them, and Asp and Syn tumbled out, finally losing their balance.

"We heard the whole thing," he told Littlefoot, getting to his feet, helping Syn up, and then dusting himself off. "Let's go right away."

"No," Littlefoot replied. He didn't like being eavesdropped on, but that was the least of his worries. "I'm not risking any more lives. I'm going alone." He looked ahead with determination and began walking towards the Great Valley's main entrance.

"Okay, heeere's the situation," Asp explained, a little too casually. Littlefoot turned to him hurriedly. "You either go with us, or- we'll secretly follow you. Either way, you aren't doing this alone, so why not make it easier on us?" Syn and Star nodded vigorously in agreement.

The breeze whistled through some reeds and gently shook a few branches as silence overtook the children for a moment. Finally, Littlefoot couldn't hold back a smile any longer and almost laughed. He had such wonderful friends.

"Alright, I guess I'll get Cera as well then, and we'll leave as soon as we're all together. We should save our strength, so wait right here, okay?" The others nodded as Littlefoot ran off. They stood and waited patiently for quite a few minutes. Next, the uncomfortable shifting began. At long last, when their legs felt like bubbly goo, dawn came twice, and Asp's eyes widened.

He clenched his fist angrily and shouted, "We've been had! He left without us!"

**Chapter End**

"Yikes, I'm in for some trouble now. If you haven't guessed already, it's me, Littlefoot. Things have gotten pretty dangerous, so let me hurry up and give you a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. I learn that when I want to keep others out of danger, I stop the chance of there being no danger at all…"


	8. Unfailing Friendship

**Chapter VII: Unfailing Friendship**

Littlefoot was running fast and breathing hard between two large, stone walls aligning the entryway into the Great Valley. There was nothing else but small, round stones and dry dirt from lack of rain. His footsteps were making loud, rhythmic thuds and kicking up small bits of dust. Usually, his mind told him one thing and his heart another, so there was this inner battle going on when he made big decisions. However, while there still a fight, his mind was sitting on the sidelines. The argument was between his heart, and, well, his heart. He felt that he did the best moral thing by leaving alone so as not to put anyone else in danger. Still, there was this constant nagging for deceiving his friends. If it wasn't life threatening, he'd've never done so after the whole tinysauruses thing a while back, but past and present feelings of guilt flooded into him nonetheless. His mind, watching this war unfold, finally chose a side and told its messenger, the mouth, to proclaim it.

"I can't risk anyone else's safety," he said to himself. "If something happens to me, at least they won't be in trouble. I did the best thing by leaving them." He then took one more step forward- and he was in the Mysterious Beyond, no longer sheltered by the paradise's protective barrier. He looked around and up but saw no one. Cautiously, he took a few more steps out so he could be seen more easily in the daylight. He waited and waited, but the only thing that moved was the rapid beating of his heart. He was taking slow, deep breaths while moving his eyes about, but he was so focused on being focused that he really wasn't focused at all.

"You came alone," Ichy commented. Littlefoot nearly jumped out of his skin. He had neither seen him coming nor heard him land. But there the prickly flyer was, standing behind him, eyes devious, mouth crooked and drooling, expression devious.

"Yeah, now where are the kids you stole? Or, are you finally going to admit that you lied about kidnapping them?" he asked, back to the flyer, trying to sound casual, but the hard pounding inside his chest that made him tremble revealed the truth about his courage. Suddenly, he felt sick, and the calm collective demeanor he'd wanted to show suddenly lost all luster. Littlefoot quickly whipped around to face Ichy and tensed to run if he had to. He had no idea what the meat eater had planned. Torture? Killing? The possibilities flooded his mind in a river of terror. He gulped.

Ichy grinned and nearly laughed, instead just abruptly exhaling through his beak twice. "Oh, boooys!" he called, wing against his mouth.

Two more flyers entered the scene, suddenly appearing from behind a dead log, and Littlefoot could barely believe his eyes. Maybe they were lying to him. He may have fainted for that matter and was therefore just seeing things in his head. Surely, for this made no sense. His brain could not wrap itself around the incredulousness that was being presented to it. He tested the unknown waters with his mouth.

"R-rinkus? Sierr-a? You're working- you can't be working with- with Ichy now!" he stammered in disbelief. His shocked expression brought on chortling from them all.

"You might say that," Rinkus replied in his sneering voice. He grinned happily, but there was nothing inviting about it.

"Bu- but why? What do you three have in common?" Littlefoot asked, strength failing him. His mind was accepting who he saw now but not quite fully.

"Well, simple, realleh," Sierra told him. He paused for dramatic effect and concluded, "We all want ya dead." Rinkus and Sierra suddenly began laughing evilly. Littlefoot's eyes darted back and forth, terrified, as Ichy stepped forward.

"I bumped into those two a while back, and we all learned that we had the same goal," Ichy told him. "I love it when my luck turns, don't you? Oh, wait, I suppose _you_ wouldn't!" Then he joined in the laughter. Littlefoot was definitely afraid of these three, but the main cause he had for fear was Dil, Ichy's partner in crime. She could crush him with one swing of her tail like he was nothing. He looked behind him to see if she was around, but he saw no one.

"What about- Dil?" he asked. With all his racing heart, he hoped that they were still at odds.

"She's watching our little guests," Ichy explained, pressing his wing tips together.

Littlefoot knew at that point that the only way he was going to keep his sanity was to try talking more relaxed. Maybe his body would follow the example of his mouth.

The longneck scoffed. "Pfft. Dil watching something? Now that's a first. I bet those kids could escape without her even noticing."

"Yeah, tell me about it. We stuck them in a hollow stump and covered the top with a rock to make it easy on her. She is one stupid-" Ichy suddenly frozen in anger at being fooled into making small talk with his dinner. "Now cut that out! You've made fools of us all! Now- you pay." That is when Littlefoot heard it. He heard what his fate would be. He had thought it would be torture or killing, but how wrong he had been... It was both. "We're going to eat you slowly while you still live and breathe." Littlefoot's heart sank and his face went pale. His lip quivered as he tried to make it form words.

"W-wa-ait! Y-you said you'd- you'd let the kids go. You have to!" he demanded, using the last of his energy reserves for his order.

"Oh, we will," Ichy assured coyly, still rapping his wing tips together. "We'll let them go right away." Then his tone grew very dark. "Into our STOMACHS!"

Littlefoot suddenly tried to run as the three flyers approached him, but their wings were out to grab him, and they surrounded him. He felt he had the strength to break through, and maybe he did, but when he tried to charge, Ichy snapped at him fiercely with his sharp teeth, stopping him dead in his tracks. The flyers were now practically on top of him, their shadows blocking him from the sun, and he thought to himself, with one final glimpse of hope before the very end, "At least- at least my friends are safe."

He was smiling now. He accepted death and was now ready for it. When he still had a sliver of hope to survive, his mind had reason to fear. But with no chance now, his brain seemed to go dull, to stop processing any new information. He started to let himself go limp as their beaks came at him open wide. He looked up to the sky in a small gap between Rinkus and Sierra, and he thought he saw a cloud that looked just like his mother, beckoning him to join her.

"Soon, mother, soon…" he whispered as his eyes said farewell to the world with a tear of joy and apprehension. With that, he closed his eyes.

"I would hold it if I were you," a voice suddenly called out. Littlefoot's eyelids suddenly snapped open, and the three flyers, their drooling mouths practically touching his warm flesh, turned their heads to see who had interrupted them. Low and behold, it was a threehorn standing defiantly behind them, as well as a longneck. Their names just happened to be Cera and Stardipper.

"Well, lookie what we have here," Rinkus said, rubbing his wings together gleefully. "A new dinner plan." Sierra was left guarding Littlefoot as Rinkus and Ichy went to round the new morsels up.

The girls only stood there and smiled. The flyers zoomed straight for them at a fast speed, but they suddenly screeched to a halt in midair, tumbling into a pile and looking up to the sky in terror. Up on the horizon flapped over twenty flyers from the Great Valley, all with very angry expressions.

"I think our friends here have different plans in store for you," Cera told them cheerfully.

"Yeppers!" Star agreed, hopping up and down as she spoke.

"Quick, Ichy! Grab them little squirts! Then we can safely escape," Sierra shouted to him.

"Yes!" Rinkus nearly hissed. "They won't attack of we have them in our clutches."

"Ohhh…" another voice suddenly came from nearby. The trio of flyers turned at once, and their hearts sank. Asp was standing there looking incredibly nonchalant with his hands full, and Syn stood beside him, trying to seem tough despite her shyness. "You don't mean- these two, do you?" Asp asked, as he and Syn circled around to the others. "Sorry to burst the ole bubble, but- you lose." A young swimmer and flyer were in his arms, the very two they had captured earlier.

"Wha- how!" Ichy stammered in a panic.

Littlefoot chuckled. "Never ask a bellydragger to watch _anything_, no matter how easy it may seem."

"Mm-hm," Asp added, sounded very bored. He even yawned. "We walked right over to that stump, moved the rock on top, and then let them both out, and she didn't- notice- a thing," Asp explained triumphantly.

"FLY!" Ichy shouted to the others, and the three of them soared away in a hurry. The army of flyers quickly followed in hot pursuit, not wanting their children's safety ever in jeopardy by them again. As they all flew over to where Dil was "standing guard," Ichy shouted, "You are so worthless!"

"Eh?" Dil asked, confused, trying to see him by looking up. "Ichy? What's going on?" she called back to him.

"You failed as usual, lug head, that's what! Now RUN!"

Dil didn't understand but moved forward as fast as she could, having sensed the urgency in Ichy's voice. As the large group chased down the baddies, Littlefoot walked over to his friends with a grateful expression. His heart had finally settled down, and he sighed with great relief and managed a smile. Like he thought before, he had such wonderful friends.

"Nice job freeing those kids. You must have overheard our conversation, right? And thank you- for saving my life. I thought I was a real goner there!" Littlefoot exclaimed. None of his friends uttered a word. Littlefoot looked from face to face, expecting some sort of response, and as the silence continued, his smile grew less and less until his mouth was lined with worry. "Uh, guys…?"

Asp decided that Littlefoot deserved a response alright. So, he marched right over to Littlefoot and slapped him so hard that a red imprint of his hand was left on the longneck's face. He yowled in pain, but none of his friends seemed concerned, though Syn cringing made it clear that she felt Asp might have overdone it a bit. Littlefoot shook his head a few times to wear away the shock, and he finally found his voice.

"What did you do that for!" He was angry, but the fact they had saved him really dulled down that emotion.

Asp sighed. He looked deeply into Littlefoot's eyes and asked slowly and softly, "You really don't know?" When he just stared back, Asp went on to say, "A tree can stand tall in a fierce storm because it has many roots. But, if a tree has none, it will easily go down. Next time there is danger, remember this." Then, losing his serious tone for a more casual one, he added, "And yep, we overheard."

Littlefoot was overcome with guilt, and he hung his head until Star approached him. She put her head under his and lifted his chin up, and when she backed up, he kept his gaze straight, on her, but he still seemed very conscious stricken.

She opened her mouth slightly then closed it, followed by a big smile. "We're your friends, Littlefoot. Sure, there are times when you'd like to be alone, but when you need us, don't expect us to stay away. Like, ever. Friends share each other's burdens to the very end. Not only that…" she trailed off. Then she tackled him. From atop his belly, she exclaimed, "You're just too cute to be kept outta my sight!" And she licked his cheek.

Littlefoot didn't let himself be grossed out at this emotional moment, just chuckled and got up as Star stepped off. "Thank you, everyone. I'm sorry that I tried doing this alone. I'm no Lone Dinosaur," he said with a laugh. Then he finished with a truly sincere tone, saying, "You're the best friends a guy could ask for."

"Aw! Group hug, everyone, group hug!" Star called, and they all gathered together for an embrace. They stayed that way for a few seconds and would have for longer if loud fluttering hadn't filled the sky.

"What happened?" Asp asked the flyers as the kids looked up.

"They managed to get away," one of the males in the group said with disgust, and he spat onto the ground, "but we'll be keeping an eye out for them for a long time to come." The kids nodded with satisfaction. That was all the grownups could do.

The seven of them returned home, and the two little ones ran home to their parents with great relief, and they were received with tears and hugs by their parents and siblings. Littlefoot's grandparents were waiting at the entrance in great apprehension for his safety, and when they saw him approaching, they sighed with relief, tears in his grandmother's eyes, as they rushed over as fast as their aged bodies could take them. They nuzzled their faces against him, and he pressed back. His grandmother picked him up and placed him on his grandfather's head. However, at eye level, she saw the red mark on his face.

"Oh my! Did one those flyers hit you?" Her voice was a mix of great concern for her grandson and rage against those villains.

Littlefoot glanced at Asp who gulped. He suddenly felt awkward, as he was tempted to deceive yet again, and his heart began fighting just like before. He inwardly frowned, but he finally broke the silence with his answer. Looking back at his grandmother, he replied, "I was hit alright, but I was so lost out there that I think it knocked some sense into me." Littlefoot grinned as his grandparents exchanged confused, curious glances, but he said no more, and they didn't press the matter.

Asp exhaled slowly through his mouth as he looked at the ground with a smile he couldn't suppress. When he eventually looked back up at the longneck, their eyes met, and they became better friends than ever. Littlefoot felt a great comfort within himself, for he'd settled the dispute in his heart, and neither side lost. He was set back down onto the ground upon request, and the two of them walked back over to the other three who were standing nearby, grinning from ear to ear. His grandparents went back to grazing. The subject of the danger was now over, so all that was left to say was-

"Wanna play a game now! We could sure use the fun!" Star pointed out. "Come on, you know you wanna play play play!" she exclaimed, jumping around like a hopper.

"You're kidding," Cera replied incredulously, her face turning into a frown. "We all ran like the wind to chase Littlefoot down then trudged all the way back. I'm exhausted. How can you possibly have the energy for a game?" she wanted to know, her eyes watching the longneck bounce around.

"Hm…" Star suddenly stopped jumping and looked up thoughtfully. "I dunno!" she shouted, resuming her hopping.

"Forget it," Cera retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Well, we could play a game that can be done sitting down if dinosaurs are tired," Asp suggested. He too was worn out, but he wanted to seem as if he was doing this for everyone else's benefit alone.

"I like that idea, yeah," Littlefoot replied. "Do you know one?"

"My mom made this one up long ago," he began. "Okay, so, each member of the group pretends to be another member of the group but doesn't say who. Then the others take turns asking him or her questions, and of course, the dinosaur replies as if he or she was that other dinosaur. The first one to say who the dinosaur is pretending to be wins that round, though everyone can only guess once, and the questions have to applicable to everyone. Like, I couldn't ask if you like living with your grandparents because that would only leave room for Littlefoot. Oh, and we also take turns asking questions, but that doesn't have to be in any order."

"Ooh, sounds awesome! May I go first? Can I, can I, can I?" Star pleaded. Asp was taken aback by how desperate she looked. It was just a game.

The other laughed. "Sure," Littlefoot told her as he chuckled. He sat down on the grass, and the others followed his example, shaded by the tall trees that thinly surrounded them. There was a puddle in the center of their circle, and Syn stretched out her legs into it, cooling her feet.

"Ooh, okay, um…" She seemed so deep in her thoughts that the others thought she might drown. Suddenly, her words exploded so fast out of her mouth that everyone blinked. "Thoughtta one! Go ahead, guys."

Littlefoot decided to ask first. "So, what do you like doing in your spare time?"

"Eating tree stars and leading others around." Star giggled. It was so funny that she knew something the others didn't know! Yet.

The group was silent as they pondered with squinted eyes and pursed lips. All of them liked tree stars and both Littlefoot and Asp had taken charge a few times. Cera even had when Littlefoot had run off without them. All her clue had done was to eliminate Syn- but that's how the game was supposed to work.

Now Cera went ahead. "If I abandoned you, what would you do?" The threehorn licked the top of her mouth and shifted where she sat in apprehension of what her question would reveal.

Star thought for a moment. "Well, I would ask why you did that."

"Littlefoot!" Cera exclaimed. "Syn would have said nothing, Asp would have smacked you like he did to Littlefoot, and I would get furious."

"Aw! That was over like, way too fast!" she cried, hanging her head in utter despair. Then, three seconds later, she jolted her head up and grinned, perfectly fine again.

"I should have known she'd pick me," Littlefoot thought to himself with a mental grin and rolling of his eyes.

"Cera won, so it's her turn," Asp said, as if the others had forgotten which way the circle was going.

"Ready." She apparently had been planning ahead and looked very smug.

"If you thought I was cute, what would you do?" Asp asked. He rapped his thumb and index fingers together rhythmically as he prepared to analyze her answer.

"Keep it to myself," she replied.

"Definitely not Star," they all thought to themselves, minus Star herself who thought, "Gee, that doesn't help."

"Um," Syn began, "If someone was picking on your friend, uh, what would you do?"

"Get in the bully's face," Cera said in a menacing tone and fearsome expression.

"Me!" Asp guessed, almost jerking from thinking to be correct.

"Wrong answer," Cera replied with a smirk.

"Wait, you picked yourself!" Littlefoot asked. It was extremely obvious that it was her at this point. Cera looked triumphant and raised her head high.

"Not against the rules, is it?" she asked coyly.

"Well- no…" Asp answered slowly, dejected. "So self-centered…" he muttered.

"What was that!" she demanded. Asp shrugged with a very surprised expression on his face as if he had absolutely no idea what Cera was asking about.

"My turn then," Littlefoot announced, cutting in. "Okay, I'm-" but he stopped when the ground started to shake. Their eyes widened in surprise as they shook with the earth. Everyone quickly got to their feet and tried not to panic which turned out to be somewhat difficult.

"Another earthshake? Is the world just out to get us?" Asp cried in disbelief. They all started to run away from any trees for fear they might fall on them, save Littlefoot who had suddenly seemed a lot calmer.

"No, wait! That's not an earthshake. Look!" he called, motioning with his head. The others turned to see a large herd of longnecks entering the valley at a great speed. "Is that my dad's herd?" he asked excitedly, moving his head left and right, trying to get a better look. They all stared at the incoming visitors, and Cera's eyes widened as a grin spread across her face.

"No, but you still won't be disappointed. I see the Old One at the front. Ali's back."

**Chapter End**

"Ah! Okay, now I'm mad! Who does this Ali girl think she is? Littlefoot's heart belongs to the super awesome Star and no one else! It's so frustrating I can barely speak! Don't worry, though. I'll still give you a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. I get a little jealous and cause a little tension. And by a little, I mean a lot."


	9. The Trouble with Jealousy

**Chapter VIII: The Trouble with Jealousy**

"Ali?" Star asked. When she spoke, she was facing off into the distance, and it wasn't until she had finished her "question" that she turned her head to Littlefoot expectantly. She seemed curious yet uninterested at the same time. There were three things she already knew at this point: Ali was a girl, Ali was a longneck, and Ali was already of some importance to him. Needless to say, her tone did not emanate a jovial disposition.

"She's an old friend of mine," Littlefoot replied casually without trying to. He found no reason to sound any different.

"I- see," she replied. Star should have taken a long drink of water because she sounded rather dry. She was the only one not standing in the shade of some low, leafy trees, and the heat was amplifying her mood. Almost dizzy from the heat, she blinked a few times, and her breathing was very audible.

Only one of the others noticed anything was afoot, but they all started to hurry towards the herd of longnecks. Asp and Syn were almost as eager as their two hosts, fueled by curiosity and potential friendship. They smiled and laughed as they galloped forward, but Littlefoot took a glance back and skidded to a halt, the others doing the same when they noticed him. Star was standing still.

"You alright?" Littlefoot called back her. He was concerned, but there was no reason to suspect that something major was wrong, so his tone was not dire.

"I'm- not feeling well," she replied breathlessly. The brightness of the sun was beating down on her, singeing her flesh slightly and making it hard to focus, but that had nothing to do with her comment.

As the kids began walking back to her, she called out, "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine. Have fun with this- Ali- friend- girl." The rest of them exchanged glances for a moment but then took her advice and went to see the herd. Asp cut her a sharp glance while only moving his eyes before looking back ahead. Star watched them go for a few seconds, glanced over at the herd, then turned and walked away, staying in the light of day.

As Littlefoot and the others reached the longnecks, the Old One looked down and spotted him in particular. She knew his mindset and simply felt no choice but to tell him. She looked very grave, and her wrinkled eyes seemed so distant, so shrouded in ice and memories. When her eyes met his, Littlefoot stopped, sensing something was wrong, and his friends waited for him. The leader of the herd always seemed dismal, pessimistic, but never had he seen her so grieved. She stopped the group and told them to go ahead and get some water and that she'd catch up with them. They obeyed, their loud footsteps causing geysers of dust to erupt in mushroom-like puffs. At last, it was just the Old One and the children.

"I would like to speak to Littlefoot- alone," she announced. Her voice had such a serious, intense edge that the others backed away awkwardly until they were out of hearing range. Syn took Asp's hand, concerned for whatever was going on, and he squeezed it tight. Cera was pacing back and forth, angry she couldn't be there to hear what was up yet afraid for whatever problem there was. They stood atop a hill and watched their friend and the Old One exchange words.

"I am afraid that Ali is-" she began gravely.

Littlefoot's eyes widened and his heart sank. He swallowed twice to get the lump out of his throat and looked aimlessly for some time to find his voice. The old longneck waited patiently, knowing what this must be doing to him. When he was finally able to speak again, his thoughts burst from his mouth like the smoking mountain blowing its top, his words barely understandable. "What! Where'she? Izshe awright?"

Gazing at his countenance, his terrified expression reflected into her aged eyes. She truly felt sorry for him. She did not answer for some time, so an awkward silence hung in the air. Littlefoot was so tense that the slightest touch would make him jump out of his skin. At last, she told him the truth. "She's just fine." When Littlefoot looked more confused than ever, she replied, "I heard your father is the leader of a herd. If you are to follow in his footsteps, try not to jump to conclusions so easily." Tears of anger filled his eyes. He never liked the Old One much, but he almost hated her now. He understood her intentions, but there was no reason to scare a kid half to death. His stomach was finally starting to settle down, but he still felt nauseated from the scare. "She's back there, sleeping atop her mother."

Wanting any excuse to look away from her, Littlefoot quickly glanced towards the herd at the Thundering Falls, drinking deeply, and his eyes eventually caught a young girl with her eyes closed on a large female. Just at that time, her mother gently lifted her up with her lips and set her down in front of the water. She yawned deeply then opened her eyes slowly. They were a little fuzzy from sleeping so long, so she rubbed her eyes with her front foot. Her face brightened at the sight of water, and she began drinking greedily, her throat crackling with thirst. When she was satisfied, she wiped her mouth and turned, and her face brightened more than ever at the sight of her old friend. She began running over to Littlefoot on the tall, cool grass, passing trees that resulted in light flickering on and off her body as she went. She staggered a bit, however, still groggy from just waking up. He moved too, and they reunited in a friendly embrace, rearing up on their hind legs. At this point, Cera, Asp, and Syn started forward again, knowing there was no more reason to stand back. Littlefoot's big smile replaced all his bitter feelings from before, and a great sense of happiness hung in the air. The Old One watched them from afar, her eyes just barely able to make them out then she turned to a nearby watering hole with a grin of her own.

"I was right," she thought to herself. "I wonder what their future holds."

"Hi, Littlefoot, Cera! Oh, and I see you made some new friends," Ali noticed. She looked at the yellowbellies and smiled politely, glad to meet some new acquaintances.

"Yes, this is Asp, and this is Syn," Littlefoot replied, though he kept his eyes on Ali the whole time.

Syn bowed, and Asp said, "Hiya." Ali was a little nervous, as she wasn't sure which one was which. She couldn't tell by the names alone which was feminine and which wasn't, but she had a guess. Wanting to find out without any awkwardness, she asked, while glancing in the general direction of them both, "So, Syn, are you two siblings?" However, being as Syn was shy and Asp frequently spoke for her, this backfired.

"No, we're not siblings, but close enough," he told her.

Free now to come clean with her confusion, "Whew, I was right after all," Ali admitted. "I thought Asp was the girl at first, but I had to check."

Asp covered his mouth slightly and softly cleared his throat. "Yes, Asp is such a girly name, huh? I bet it's hard to imagine a boy with it."

"Mm-hm," Ali said with a giggle. "I was silly to be unsure at first."

"Yes, indeed…"

"I met another girl named Star, but she's not here right now,"" Littlefoot explained abruptly. He wanted to change the subject immediately being unsure of whether or not Asp wanted the truth out. If he did, he'd have to handle it himself now. The unintentional charade had already gone too far.

From atop a nearby hill, Star was watching them. She saw Littlefoot's joyous countenance and his huge grin as he looked at this girl. Some girl. That's all see was. Nothing special. Nothing. Just some girl. If Star was upside down, the residents of the Great Valley would see a smile on her face.

"Do you want to play a game?" Cera asked her.

"Sure!" Ali replied, her weariness finally having worn off.

"Tag sound good?" Littlefoot suggested.

The others nodded except for Asp. He not only nodded his head but also cut a sharp glance with only his eyes in Star's direction. She had been walking towards them quietly, but only he had noticed the movement. He had a strong feeling that Star wanted to make a sudden entrance into the conversation, so he looked back as if he'd seen nothing. He felt that doing something kind for her might be the first step in forgetting about what she'd done to Syn.

"I'll play too," Star announced, stepping into the group and causing them to jump from hearing the sudden, nearby voice. Asp jerked as well, not wanting to show his prior knowledge. Before anyone could introduce her, she declared, "And, I'll be it to start."

"So Star is another longneck…" Ali thought to herself.

Turning to Ali, Littlefoot began, "This is-"

"We agreed to play tag, right?" Star interrupted.

"Well, y-yes…" Littlefoot answered.

"Do dinosaurs waste time with pointless introductions in tag, or do we run around tagging others in tag?" Star seemed deep in thought at this point. Finally, she concluded, "Mm, I think tag is about tagging, so hop to it!"

Littlefoot and the other Great Valley dwellers were a bit bemused at her behavior, but Ali was completely unfazed. She had dealt with the same attitude from Cera, so doing it again would be even easier…

Everyone began running away from Star. Most of them went in different directions, but Asp and Syn ran together. The area had many trees and mud for reduced traction, so they needed to be careful. At least they tried. With fewer and shorter legs than the others, Asp or Syn were the slowest. Furthermore, leave it to him to slip. Syn tried to steady him, but the weight of the tug only brought them both down. They slid face first in the mud, dirt splattering in their eyes. They stood up in a panic and started rubbing it all out, making easy targets. Star, however, had other plans. Her focus hadn't been on them from the very start. She started chasing Ali, as fast as she could go at the instant the game had begun.

Ali had migrated her whole life, so was used to a lot of moving. She was clearly faster than Star, though just a little. Star pushed herself, though, and moved as if she was being chased by a sharptooth. Ali, who was just running for fun, started losing the distance in their gap. They came across some mud, but their deep footprints sunk in, giving support that held firm. Clods of wet earth shot up, getting all over them, but they kept running. Ali was starting to get the feeling this wasn't a game anymore. As Star was nearly upon her, she jumped up and went sailing through the air, tackling Ali hard. Everyone else just stopped and stared. Upon landing, they spun around in circles in the mud, almost covering them completely. When the momentum stopped them, they were too dizzy to see, and Littlefoot ran over with a worried look.

"Are you two alright?" Littlefoot asked the two mud-covered girls quickly.

Star said nothing and instead just slowly stepped off of Ali, keeping her eyes on her target, but Ali replied, "I'm fine."

Turning to Star, Littlefoot explained gently, "You must not have played tag before, Star. You don't tackle a dinosaur; you just touch one to tag, at least, that's the way we play it. You might have hurt Ali."

"Oh dear, oops. I am so sorry," Star replied, but she didn't sound sorry at all. Ali looked at her then she quickly turned away. Maybe this wasn't going to be easier… At least Cera hadn't been violent.

"So uh, I guess I'm it now," Ali said slowly. The rest of them were trying to play off Star's unusual behavior, hoping it would run its course, so they resumed the game as if everything was just fine. They started to run away- except for Star.

"Star, move it!" Asp called out. That was all for now. He was not interested in helping her a third time.

Ali didn't know what Star was doing, but since she wasn't cooperating, she started to run past her to chase someone who would play. As she began to pass Star, she stuck her tail out, and Ali came crashing to the ground. Her eyes needed a few seconds to adjust after the shock, and she had to shake her head a few times. The world was spinning at first, but when her vision settled, she got up quickly and got in Star's face.

She had never done anything like this before. She was very mild and passive- had been her whole life. Then again, she had never dealt with a violent brat before, so a whole new side of her was starting to surface.

"Okay, what's your problem?" she demanded with an intimidating set of eyes. Then her lip quivered slightly. She was not at all comfortable acting this way, but she held firm anyway.

Star donned an innocent looked and replied, "Why, why whatever do you mean, friend?" Her tone of utmost surprise at the question was almost convincing. Asp narrowed his eyes and held a curled index finger to his chin.

"Don't play dumb with me, and you clearly have no interest in being my friend!" Ali exclaimed. Now her whole body was shaking slightly from not being used to this. Always gentle, talking this way was scaring even her.

Star casually walked by her without turning to her or making eye contact. She did, however, glance at Littlefoot. "Oh, I think your friend here has been under the bright circle for too long." The others were too polite to mention the irony. Star was sunburned in many places.

Ali scowled. "Okay, Littlefoot, you either play with me or with her. I'm not going to be in another game with your little friend here."

There he was. Littlefoot was stuck between the gazes of two girls, but more importantly, two friends. Ali's offended glare penetrated him painfully, but Star's look of nonchalance that harbored an even greater fury almost made him melt. He slinked back uncomfortably but knew he'd never escape them or his fate of answering this deadly question.

The air had gotten very heavy, and Syn shifted around uncomfortably. She folded her hands together and looked very sad. She didn't want there to be any fighting, especially between two dinosaurs she cared about. Asp put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Syn's eyes widened, and she shot him a look, but he pressed a finger to his lips for her to remain silent.

Littlefoot was now shifting uncomfortably, and his mouth was slightly open. Knowing Ali longer didn't help press him towards a side to take. His stomach started to churn, and he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to find any thought or feeling to point him in the right direction. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to decide. A loud voice echoed across the Great Valley. The kids immediately recognized the voice. The dread Littlefoot had been feeling up till now suddenly vanished, forgotten for the time being. It had now been replaced tenfold.

"Attention residents of this valley!" the voice echoed, making it impossible to pinpoint. "All of your watering holes have been given a little more- flavor. Poisonous berries have been broken open in most of them, while harmless ones have been added to a few. That way, you can't tell which ones are clean just from them being clear. Have Littlefoot leave the valley alone, and I'll tell you which ones are safe to drink. Otherwise, take your chances and die. That is all," Ichy concluded. He quickly flew out of the dead stump near one of the cave openings and entered the grotto to make his escape unseen.

**Out in the Mysterious Beyond…**

The ground was hard and grey. Large, flat rocks littered the area, along with a few weeds that needed little water to survive and a few dead logs. There was no sound, no gurgling tar pits or wind present. The silence was eerie. Not even a bug was seen crawling about in this area, but some dinosaurs worth even less were huddled inside one of the dead pieces of wood, talking.

"You promised to let my sister go if I planted the berries as you asked," a young flyer reminded the prickly villain. His blue skin reflected his mood. He felt very grieved at endangering the Great Valley like that, but his sister was his whole world. If it meant keeping her safe, he'd die if he had to. "Now please do it." His face was as serious as they come.

Ichy stretched his wings and then covered his mouth to muffle a yawn as he replied, "Oh, we already let her go." He finished his yawn as the boy's face was looking far less like his color. Relief filled his mind and heart, and he was prepared to be their prisoner forever. It didn't matter what happened to him. His pride and joy, his everything, his sister, was not only alive but safe and sound. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Sierra who was clearly about to speak.

"Yeah, she's enjoyin' the freedom of our stomachs rat now," Sierra told him, patting his belly.

"I can see why you loved her so much," Rinkus added, rubbing his own. "She was delicious."

The blue flyer said nothing. Oh, but he screamed alright. His heart was beating so hard that he felt it was going to burst out of his chest. His tears poured from his eyes like rain during a storm. He couldn't move. His wings shook so severely that he seemed to be having a seizure. His sister… He loved no one more… Everything… She was- everything… He fell to his knees as his captors just laughed. He made no effort to fly away, either. There was so much grief in his heart that there was no room for any other emotion, not even fear. He was too stunned to even move, but even if he could, he had no reason left to survive. Ichy now stepped forward.

"Mom, dad, now you can be happy again. Enjoy your life without kids to worry about." He was looking up to the sky now, but there was no sunlight to warm his face. How cruel the clouds were at this moment.

"Shut up!" Ichy ordered, hating sentimentality.

"You're so evil," the boy said to them all in a daze, barely knowing what came from his own mouth. "I hope you all learn to care about others someday. If you do, don't feel guilt. I forgive you. I forgive you." He wasn't sure why his mind had him repeat that last line. He just needed to make it clear. Ichy, however, was not moved or happy that his order had been disobeyed.

He grabbed the flyer by his throat and chomped down on his tiny chest. Blood splattered in his face, and that little blue flyer never felt anything again. Two tiny clouds in the sky in the shape of flyers could be seen floating towards each other quickly. When they collided, they vanished from sight.

"So ya really think that the adults of the valley'll just give up Littlefoot?" Sierra asked curiously, entirely unmoved by either of their deaths or the boy's words. It was as if that blue flyer had said nothing, and his death was seen as merely a snack. But at least that boy was alive once. Sierra, utterly emotionless for anyone but himself, never had any life to begin with.

"Possibly, but even if they don't, he'll surely come from guilt," Ichy explained, rapping his wing tips together. "I would have spoken to him directly again, but there were too many flyers guarding the valley after our last stunt. Don't worry, boys. Everything will play out like we want…"

The members of the Great Valley gathered in a panic at the rock circle near the center. Every single adult who lived there was present for the meeting. Dying of poison was kind of important. Various adults, some known, some rarely seen, were doing what adults normally did- pointing out the obvious.

"We have to do something!"

"Surely we can't give up a child!"

"They didn't give any other choices…"

"I'm thirsty."

"Quiet!" Mr. Threehorn screamed, his voice shaking the valley and echoing that word three times as they all grew silent. "I'm sure it's just a bluff. How could he have pulled that off? Here's what I'll do: I'll take a small drink from this watering hole. Either I'm fine because they were bluffing, or this is one of the safe ones to drink."

"I think that's too big of a risk," Littlefoot's grandfather pointed out. No one was harmed yet, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Bah," he replied. "I'm sure they're just lying." And with that, he bent down and took a small sip of the water. He stood back up, looked at all the worried faces around him then looked at various parts of himself in case something happened. Nothing did. The crowd sighed with relief, save Littlefoot's grandfather. He knew it can take long for poison to affect a dinosaur. Nothing was proven yet.

The others crowded around the watering hole, sure now that it was safe to drink from, but the old longneck quickly got between them and stomped his foot.

"Stop!" he pleaded. "We still don't know if it's safe to drink from. Just give it a little more time."

Mr. Threehorn snorted angrily and looked like he was going to ram him out of the way. Fortunately, he didn't. They all stood back and waited as he instructed and continued the discussion in the meantime.

Ducky's mother spoke up. "The question is, why does he want Littlefoot?"

"Does it really matter?" his grandmother asked, horrified that anyone might think that made any difference. "Regardless of his reason, he's not getting him!"

"Of course he won't," the swimmer quickly replied, ashamed at coming across any other way. "I just thought if we knew why, we could solve this matter in a different way."

"Are you blind?" Cera's father asked, stomping the ground hard. "You can see that I'm just fine. Even if by some terrible luck they were speaking the truth, this water is safe."

"Not exactly, Mr. Threehorn," Littlefoot's father told him. "Poisonous berries don't work instantly, especially not after being diluted in water."

"You worry too much," Mr. Threehorn informed him. "This meeting is pointless! Let's just all go ho-" but he quickly stopped speaking. The jabbing in his stomach was too great. It felt like he had eaten sharp rocks that were trying to break out of his body. He quickly turned away from the others and threw up the watering hole he had drunk from.

Tria ran over to him, Tricia hanging onto her back, and pummeled him with, "Are you alright's?" The children were watching from far away, but so many adults were blocking the view that Cera hadn't seen her father puke.

"That settles it," Littlefoot's grandfather announced to the others, unworried, knowing that the small sip wouldn't kill a dinosaur so large. "We need to hunt that flyer down and make him tell us which are safe. In the mean time, we must tell our children not to drink anything. Meeting adjourned."

The others nodded in agreement, while Mr. Threehorn only groaned. Tria helped him back to his nest so he could lie down. Several flyers in the area took off to find Ichy, while others went to find their kids. A low rumbling could be heard, and the remaining adults turned to see the Old One and her herd approaching. They either hadn't come to the meeting from not being invited or because they felt it was an intrusion to enter the meeting of others' homes, but no one cared about that. At this point, the children began scooting closer to hear better.

"What have you decided to do?" the old female asked them.

"We're certainly not giving up Littlefoot, but some flyers flew off to find the one who called out," Littlefoot's grandfather told her.

"Good," she replied, but she didn't sound very complimentary. "In the meantime, if you want to make yourselves more useful, send some dinosaurs to retrieve some fire moss."

"Fire moss?" his grandmother asked curiously, stepping forward.

"Yes. It is an orange, bushy plant usually found in caves where there is little to no light. It is safe to eat and cures the sickness one gets from eating poisonous berries. If placed in your sources of water, it will cleanse them of the deadly effect."

"Do you know of any specific places to find it?" grandpa longneck asked, stepping up beside his mate.

"The large cave between the Valley of Mists and the Great Valley has it in abundance," the Old One answered.

"Will you tell us how to get there?" grandma longneck asked her. Suddenly, she felt déjà vu.

"Sharpteeth have recently begun to make that cave their home. Sorry, but you'll have to find it somewhere else. I'm not sending any of you to certain death." The Old One walked past them, her herd following, and they all lied down for some rest after their journey. Littlefoot's grandfather was clearly upset at her response. For one thing, why tell us where fire moss is if, well, she won't tell us where it is! Secondly, it's either risk sharpteeth or dying of thirst, and the former has much better odds. However, he knew the stubbornness of the Old One. Nothing would change her mind when she gave an order.

Littlefoot and the others backed away from the bushes they were hiding behind. He opened his mouth to speak, but Cera cut him off.

"Fine, I'll go," she told Littlefoot.

"But I didn't even-"

"Yeah, but I know you well enough to know what you were going to say," she replied. "We have to save the day as usual, blah blah blah. We do know exactly where the cave is, after all." Littlefoot grinned.

"There's no point in saying to count Syn and I since it's obvious we're going too, so let's just get moving," Asp instructed. How Littlefoot loved his friends. At last, he turned to Star and Ali who were still looking at each other, covered in mud, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, guys, it'll be dangerous. We can go a lot faster without our folks, so we should leave on our own. Are we _all_ up to getting some fire moss?" Littlefoot asked. They all nodded, minus Star.

"You have Ali now, so you won't be needing me!" Star announced, jumping into the air as she spoke. Her voice sounded creepily cheerful. She shook her body violently, getting the mud off of her but showering it all over the others.

The others looked at her in confusion of her actions and displeasure at her "gift," but she only grinned back. She marched right over to Littlefoot, took a long look at Ali, kissed his cheek, getting mud back on her lips, then called out, "Ta ta!" before walking off into the distance, emphatically swaying her rear.

Littlefoot sighed as they all shook themselves off, but he knew that the Great Valley needed safe water as soon as possible. "Let's just go," he said sadly, taking one last look in her direction before leading the others back to the cave in the Mysterious Beyond. As they left eyesight, Star took a final glance in their direction. A small tear rolled down her cheek.

**Chapter End**

"Um, hi. I hope this isn't a bad time. I just thought you could use a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love, but if you don't want it, feel free to interrupt me at any time. So we take a little trip to get the fire moss, but we run into some danger- three dangers, to be precise. Oh, no one interrupted me. It looks like you wanted my preview after all. I'm glad. Best wishes from Syn as you continue reading."


	10. The Telltale Longneck

**Chapter IX: The Telltale Longneck**

"How much longer?" Cera whined. She knew the way of course, but she'd completely forgotten how long it took to arrive. She emphasized her footsteps before continuing how she had been walking, looking down at each foot as she went in great pain. The ground was actually soft, brown sand, but the bright circle was beating down to make the grains nearly unbearable with heat. In all reality, when they stood in one place for only a couple of seconds, the sand beneath them would cool off, but the threehorn was in too much of a hurry to know this by accident. She had practically been dancing the whole way, her feet staying on the ground no more than an instant, very quiet "Ooh's!" and "Ah's" shooting from her mouth the whole time as she made up the rear.

They were passing the familiar boulders they had the last time they had travelled here. The large, grey stones hadn't changed, still decorating the field with an unattractive pattern that supplied no shade. Well, they _did_ supply some blockage from the bright circle's rays, but the way to the Cave of Mists was very specific and easy to get lost from, so Ali had them moving in the direction that would have them heading straight there. As a result, the tempting shade was on the other side of the rocks. Cera kept glancing at the lightless blotches on the ground with great yearning. She didn't seem angry but rather sad, the pain taking too much energy for her to have the strength to keep hold of a temper tantrum.

"When we get there, I'll let you know," Asp answered. He glanced upward and away and placed his two middle fingers on the tip of the side of his chin as if he was trying not to laugh at his own words.

"Thanks, I-" Cera began then froze in realization of the sarcasm. "Argh!" she growled at him. But her frustration quickly faded back into pain from the heat.

"Here, Cera," Syn began quietly. "Um, if you don't mind a suggestion-" she paused, waiting to see if the threehorn was going to object in advance, but she did not. "Leave your feet down a bit longer. The ground will cool off quickly, and you'll get used to the heat too."

Cera tried, and the first time she just stood a bit on the hot ground was nearly unbearable, but she adjusted quickly and each step afterwards had less of an initial heat shock until there was no pain at all as she moved along. Gratefully, she turned to smile at Syn, but a large leaf blowing in the wind blew right over her mouth, and the image was rather silly looking. Asp chuckled all the more. Cera growled with her mouth muffled, trying to get the leaf away, and Syn gave Asp a sharp poke on the shoulder, stopping any more laughter from him the remainder of the journey there.

Littlefoot and Ali would have been kind enough to tell Cera the sand trick much earlier, but they were too distracted with their conversation to have noticed. They were catching up on each other's lives, and he was fascinated by some of her stories. Since she was last at the Great Valley, her herd had defeated a large group of sharpteeth that attacked one night, destroyed a number of carnivorous eggs they'd come across, and crushed a mother fastbiter hunting too close to the valley. He felt a little sick as he heard all of the meat eater killings that came from their herd, but he could not forget how much the Old One despised sharpteeth, and a herd that size didn't mess around or hold back with anything that posed a threat like that. Members of his home had killed sharpeeth before, but to hear about a regular slaughter fest gave him a few chills and a queasy stomach. He had a new fear of their leader. Jerking his mind back to his task, he recalled something he had heard in the background of his conversation, so he changed the subject.

"The waterfall just in front of the cave is right around the next bend, Cera. We're just about there," Littlefoot told her. His voice was unsteady, and Ali was no fool. She realized she'd sickened him somewhat with all her gory details so went and leaned on him just slightly. He gave her a weak smile, and she rubbed her cheek against the side of his neck as they both closed their eyes for just a moment.

"Thanks," Cera replied at the information.

The children walked a bit farther, and none of them had anything to say for a time. Asp stared hard at Littlefoot and Ali then frowned. He wasn't frustrated about anything, but instead, had a combination of realization and dread. Whispering in Syn's ear like he had much earlier back in the Great Valley, her eyes took on that widened form once again.

She mouthed an, "Are you sure?" to him which no one noticed.

In response, he jerked a thumb towards the two longnecks and silently mouthed the words, "See?"

Syn squinted her eyes and looked closely at Littlefoot and Ali then they opened more. She pursed her lips, gulped, and looked back at Asp with a questioning look. He just shrugged and flipped his hands out, palms down at a loss. Finally, Cera, who had been walking beside the yellowbellies, noticed their gesturing. Saying nothing, she bided her time to ask about it sometime after their adventure was over.

It wasn't long before they all arrived at a large waterfall, and the way the sun was shining, two large rainbows were arching near its center. Littlefoot and Ali looked triumphant, Cera relieved, Asp impressed, and Syn in awe. She stopped walking for just a moment. She absolutely adored pretty things, and her eyes lit up at the beautiful sky colors.

They were reflected in her big eyes as she remarked, "Beautiful."

Asp walked over to the edge of the overhang and looked down at the bottom of the waterfall. He wasn't as appreciate of nature's beauty as Syn was, but he did admire his surroundings on occasion. The loud "SHHHHH" from the water splashing on the ground was so loud that none of them bothered to speak, and it created a mesmerizing ambiance. For a moment, all of them forget their mission and were entranced by this incredible scene. The male yellowbelly's eyes suddenly got comfortable, so he stared off into space as his muscles relaxed. His arms hung loosely at his sides, and he unknowingly began leaning just slightly closer off the platform.

Littlefoot glanced in his direction. "Asp, you might not want to stand so close to the edge," he warned. He hadn't noticed his body moving, just saw that he was pretty far out.

He jerked back to reality and tried spinning around to get away from the end but the heel he was putting pressure on was resting atop some loose gravel. He started falling back first off the side, but Syn grabbed his wrist, yanking him back around so hard they both flew backwards. Syn landed on her back with a small cry of pain as she closed her eyes instinctively, and she opened her mouth slightly. When she opened them, she saw Asp lying down on her breast. Their faces were so close that they were practically touching, and they lied like that for a moment, stunned. His breathing tickled her upper lip just slightly enough to make her body shiver, and he jumped off of her fast when he regained his senses. Back on his feet, he quickly offered his hand which she took, and she broke the silence. The other three didn't ask if they were alright because it was clear that they were and seemed to be having a moment.

"Your debt to me is really starting to pile up, Asp. Better start saving _me_ soon," Syn joked in a gentle voice, poking her two index fingers against each other a few times while her face was looking down but her eyes were looking up. She giggled a bit when she finished speaking.

"I just hope you never have to be saved," Asp replied, still wishing he could repay her but not enough that he literally wished to see her harmed. He was annoyed, but not with her. It was with himself because he felt that this friendship was more often than not one sided. Hating that he needed her to save him all the time, he nearly frowned. He felt not only that Syn was always helping him but also that he was never there for her when she needed it because she seemed to never need a helping hand. There was truth in her almost never needing physical help, but he was still mistaken. How blind he was to the fact that he helped her far more than she did him.

His mood now dampened, he replaced the subject with initiative.

"Come on, guys. I see opening to the cave is just up ahead," Asp told the group. "Time to stop wasting it."

The others nodded in agreement and fell in behind the fast-moving yellowbelly. Syn detected something was on his mind and cringed, fearing her debt comment had offended him. She caught up with him and took his hand. He squeezed it back but did not look at her, and this made her feel worse. Still, she said nothing. If he wanted to share something, he would without any prodding from her.

The path to the cave ascended, but it was not very steep. Tiny bits of water splattered onto the ground, but the fluid was so minute that not even Asp was at risk of slipping. The hard ground was very cool to the feet, almost cold, and Cera found great relief in it, almost uttering a dizzy "Mm" before collecting herself and keeping up with the others. The kids moved along the path with a spring in their step. They didn't waste too much energy on the climb, but the thirsty families back home fueled their minds and in turn their legs. When they finally reached the opening, Asp and Syn were huffing, but just barely, and Littlefoot gave them all a warning.

"The Old One said that there are sharpteeth here now. We all need to be very careful." That being said, he entered first, treading lightly and looking around very thoroughly. The rest followed him in, eyeing every bit of their surroundings; they saw no one.

"Should we split up?" Asp asked, a little too loudly. To emphasize that he realized the error on his own, not wanting anyone to shush him, he quickly repeated himself only much quieter.

Littlefoot bit his lip. Separating would definitely make the search faster, but it would make them more susceptible to a sharptooth attack. His eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at Ali. He had a questioning look in his eyes, but she had no more idea than him on what would be best. Therefore, he decided to go with his feelings.

"Maybe we should stay-" he began, but Cera suddenly cut him off.

"We'll be fine, we'll be fine," she repeated in a monotone voice, tired of always taking things safe when time was of the essence. "It's easy to hide from a sharptooth in a place like this, and I want to get this over with. The Great Valley needs us. Not in ten days- NOW!" Even though she greatly emphasized the final word, she made sure to keep her voice barely above a whisper.

Littlefoot sighed with his eyes momentarily closed. "Fine."

The cave was as Littlefoot, Cera, and Ali remembered it: dark and damp with a musty smell. There were several constant dripping sounds that played out like a song rhythm, and Syn had found herself moving her body in sync with her eyes barely open until everyone turned to her, and she stopped, looked down, and turned very red in embarrassment.

The ceiling was far above them, not even reachable by a full-grown longneck, and the spaciousness made the cave even more ominous. Large, stone teeth hung from overhead. They were large enough to kill adults if one landed squarely on one's head. The children tried not to look up, but thoughts of a possible earthshake made them glance upward instinctively to get an early look at the possible threat. Cera and Syn shuddered.

At last, the kids drew up their courage and all moved in different directions as they started to search for fire moss. The cave grew exponentially darker as they walked inside, so the kids looked very intently as they went along. Syn was looking on walls, the ground, even above for this cleansing plant. When she was certain that no one was watching, her body started to move with the water droplets again. She couldn't help it. The beat just made herself itch to follow. Even starting to hum, she found that she was not only calmed during this dangerous task but also enjoying herself to a degree. Feeling very silly now but unable to control her impulses, she began hopping from one foot to the other as she went along.

The cave wasn't so scary now. It was like it was playing a special song just for her to welcome her inside. She was smiling now, and her little dance made her forget why she was there for a minute. When her eyes caught a tiny vine, her mind seemed to be telling her something, but she couldn't make it out at first. Finally, the plant before her eyes snapped her back to the task at hand, and she decided to walk normally. She suddenly stopped, however, having felt something beneath her foot. It tickled her immensely, creating no small amount of giggling. Lifting her foot up to see what was down there, she grinned from ear to ear at the bushy, orange plant she had found. She knew exactly what moss looks like, so there was not a shadow of doubt in her mind of what this was. It was a fairly big piece, and upon closer inspection, there were more patches of it farther ahead. They did look a little like fire.

In her delight, she exclaimed, "Yes!" and thrust a fist into the air, but then she quickly covered her mouth. She shut it so fast that she bit her tongue, causing a tiny drop of blood to form. She pressed it against the roof of her mouth then swallowed hard, gaping in horror at what lied before her. What she had thought was another wall was actually a giant sharptooth sleeping in front of her. She was red with black stripes lining her back, and when she exhaled through her nose, little puffs were visible. Syn backed up slowly, hand still clutching her mouth tightly with wide eyes, and bumped into another wall. At least, she thought this was another wall. Same mistake. A second sharptooth was lying nearby, a bigger one. This was also red but much lighter, and there with no stripes on her back. Her mouth was hanging open as she drooled, and her breathing did not come from her nose. This time, Syn could not control her fear and bolted ahead- only to run head-on into a third sharptooth. He was the only male, much smaller than the other two, and his flesh was dark green with little, light green speckles scattered randomly on his face. He had been lying on his belly, and he felt the force of the yellowbelly hit his snout and opened his eyes, slowly at first then jerking awake. Seeing a snack right before him made him roar excitedly and scramble to get up in such a hurry that he only flailed around on his side for a bit before getting to his feet. The striped female awoke from the noise, but the other was not so lucky, getting jerked into consciousness by a kick into her open mouth. She coughed and spit instinctively then stood up.

If the trio had acted calmly, Syn would be dead. But no, the striped one didn't understand why the boy had screamed, the other female was angry at the boy and snapped at him, and he was roaring too fast for them to understand. Finally, he pointed at the little yellowbelly running away. The girls looked down and smacked their foreheads in unison at their little cousin for not just grabbing her but instead trying to show them. Quickly, though, they all gave chase. They were hungry, and they knew that only one of them was going to be less so, so they shoved and yanked each other as they scurried to get their teeth on Syn.

Syn was running as fast as she could, but that isn't saying much for two scrawny, little legs. A large puddle was coming up, and she stuck out her tongue in determination, licking the right section of where her lips met, and she leaned to one side when she hit the water. She skidded across quickly, almost losing her balance but managing to stay on her feet. It barely saved her time. The three sharpteeth were more organized now, running together. With their speed, they closed in on her fast. A drop of water was added to the beat in the cave, only this one came from Syn's eye. She was going to die. She just knew it. The chances of getting away were almost none even if she kept running as fast as she could go.

Syn fell.

That was it. That was the action that ended any hope of her getting away. Trying to get up and outrun them would be like trying to escape a boulder dropped ten feet above you on a flat surface while sitting down. The male get their first, clearly the nimblest of them all, and his teeth dug down into the ground, and Syn vanished from sight.

Suddenly, there was another loud roaring from not far away. The three sharpteeth stopped dead in their tracks and jerked their heads in the direction of the noise. If this had happened two seconds later, the boy's powerful teeth would have closed and crushed every bit of the yellowbelly called Syn. But it wasn't two seconds late. It was perfect timing.

Syn survived.

This fourth sharptooth sounded furious. Syn assumed it was their father or something. They started backing away in fear, looking this way and that, and finally turned around completely and ran, leaving Syn frozen in her tracks and trembling. Had this new one only delayed the inevitable? She couldn't help but think so. If she stood no chance against those three, what could she possibly do against one they were all terrified of? She was on pointy seeds and ground pricklies. If she bumped into a leaf, she would have jumped out of her skin. Then, as quickly as the noise came, all was nearly silent. The water droplets, her deep breaths, and her pulse combined into an orchestra that played a song of her doom. All three sources got faster and faster. The lack of roaring actually made things worse. She could not tell if the source was near or far or which direction it was going. Her eyes got blurry from an overload of terror, and she slumped backward. She felt warm flesh before she passed out completely.

When she came to a few seconds later, all she saw were teeth- nothing at all but teeth. She screamed. The image suddenly veered back, and she realized that they belonged to someone small who had simply had its mouth open near her face. She scooted backwards fast, her hands supporting weight from behind her. When her eyes adjusted, she saw a figure approaching her, silhouetted in the darkness. Silence. Movement. That was all her brain was processing right now. After a few more seconds, Syn learned that the body belonged to someone who could speak.

"Did you have to scream? Ugh, oh, my ears…" a familiar voice said.

Syn was on her feet so fast that she nearly fell back down. Her eyes widened at the figure as he stepped into a beam of light from a hole overhead.

"Asp!" Her mind was moving so much faster than her mouth could keep up, so the words shot out in a clutter that was barely audible. She even coughed, having choked on the sudden burst of air from her lungs. Then she silently hiccupped as he stepped in front of her.

"Who'd you think it was, silly? Heh, I scared those sharpteeth good," he said in a self-congratulating voice, arms folded as he looked around casually as Syn took a quick glance behind her. Finally, his eyes came to rest on Syn's. He was suddenly confused when she didn't look too happy.

"Um, Asp? Thank you for saving me, but-"

"Yeah?"

Syn cleared her throat nervously. "You should have waited a little longer to come out… Those sharpteeth, uh, weren't completely gone yet."

Asp quickly looked back and saw the three carnivorous beasts looking right at them from the very end of the passageway. The roaring was gone, so they figured out pretty quickly that they'd been deceived. Asp looked rather dissatisfied with this turn of events.

"Hm... Well this is- eh- unfortunate," he remarked in a nonchalant voice with a hand on his chin. Suddenly taking Syn's hand, he then screamed, "Run!" as he started dragging her with him as fast as he could go. Once again, the sharpteeth closed in on them fast. They both managed to stay on their feet even when they had to dodge puddles and leap over stones. The rumbles in the cave from the massive footsteps certainly made it hard though. The two yellowbellies soon came across a large body of water that was dark just a little ways in. "Quick, into the giant puddle!"

They waded across, slowed by the liquid, but the sharpteeth were practically on top of them now.

"Asp!" Syn screamed desperately.

"Don't worry. I see dark water, so it must get really deep. Come on!" he urged her, yanking her wrist.

They jumped forward and dived. The sharpteeth were in the water and hurried through, but they didn't see the deep part in time. They tried to stop but instead made things worse by slipping from the reduced traction, and they fell face first into the dark water. They splashed around, trying to get out, but only managed to repeatedly slash each other's faces. They finally tired and sank into the bloody water. Syn resurfaced and looked around. She saw no one. She looked around more frantically, tiny cries coming from her mouth. Nothing. Then her eyes widened and she gasped in realization as she took a deep breath and went back under. Seconds later, she pulled out a coughing and sputtering Asp. He clutched her in terror and struggled, making it hard for her to swim to the shallow part, but she managed. Finally, his feet could touch the bottom, and he let go with great relief, falling to his knees.

"Asp, you big goof! You don't know how to swim!" Syn exclaimed, bending over to see if he was okay.

"Heh heh _cough_. I don't need to know when I have you around," he replied, looking into her eyes, smiling and still breathing hard, but his breaths were slowly down.

Syn looked at him intently. He could have drowned, but he just trusted her that much.

"Looks like we pulled it off, and there, I've done it: We're even now," he interjected into her thoughts. He wore a big grin.

"Eh? How do you figure? I saved you three times before coming to this cave," Syn argued, but they were not really fighting, just playing around.

"Correct, and I just saved you from _three_ sharpteeth, each of which could have killed you. Basically, I saved you three times just now." His smirk was not hesitant in the least.

Syn grinned and closed her eyes for just a moment. She helped him up and moved her index finger in circles on his belly for a bit while giggling mysteriously. Finally, she explained, "I said that I saved you three times _before_ coming to this cave. Don't forget, I saved you from drowning just now too."

Asp's mouth dropped open. Then it opened more. Then some more still. Falling right back on his knees with a splash, he put his hands on his head and screamed, "Nooooo!" Then in a much quieter voice finished, "I was so close…"

Syn laughed heartily and poked his belly button.

More noise flooded the cave, but the two yellowbellies grinned. It was pretty obvious what all was making them. Littlefoot was the first one to arrive at their location. He was panting hard and looked very fearful for what had happened to them. Asp raised a hand slightly to signal that they were just fine, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Ali and Cera, who apparently hadn't been searching too far from each other, arrived at pretty much the same time with the same worried looks.

"They're okay," he quickly told the girls.

"Phew," Ali replied, finally able to relax her muscles. "We heard the sharpteeth and Syn screaming."

"What happened to them anyway?" Cera wanted to know, glancing around nervously as if they might jump out at any moment.

Asp and Syn looked at each other for a moment then back at the others, saying in unison, "Dark water."

There was a silence in the air for a few moments save the constant dripping. The kids generally disliked anything that tried to kill them, but death was never something they took lightly.

It was Littlefoot who finally broke the silence with a very pressing question. "Did anyone find any fire moss?"

Three of them shook their heads then hung them. Littlefoot gritted his teeth slightly in anxiety. The Great Valley needed safe water and fast. Then it dawned on him that Syn had not shaken her head. He looked at her expectantly as she shyly fumbled with her fingers.

When she caught his eyes, she swallowed and said, "I did." The others looked at her in surprise.

"Awesome!" Asp exclaimed, patting her on the back. "Lead the way, please."

The others followed her and arrived at the horde of foliage. They grinned with delight and felt a great comfort wash over them. They valley's water supply had been saved. They all plucked a bunch and headed for home, the four walkers carrying on their backs, and the yellowbellies keeping their arms full. The kids were tired so moved somewhat slowly, occasionally losing a plant as the wind blew, but Asp quickly picked up what fell. There was an elated drive that kept them pressing on without stopping through the sandy ground, but their energy was nearly depleted, so trudging described their actions best. They were far too tired to talk, and Syn leaned against Asp midway home. At least the bright circle was setting, so everything was cooler. Finally, with great relief, they saw the great wall and strode through the entrance with looks of triumph. No sooner had they made their way inside though when a large longneck approached them. Ali gulped at the sight and slowed her step, causing the others to walk past her. It was her mother.

She marched right up to her daughter, almost crushing one of the trees in her way, with a look that said, "I am going to scold you. Get ready." When she was towering over her, it began. "How many times have I told you not to go off without telling me?" she said with a raised voice. "We went over this many times after you went back to our old home last time we visited here."

"But mother, both that time and this one were really, really impor-" she began, but her mother knew the rest of her sentence which didn't change her feelings, so she had no reason to let her finish it.

"Not another word! You're not leaving the herd for the rest of the day." She stomped her foot once to show Ali that she meant business and that her mind was set.

"Yes, mother," she replied quietly with her head hung low. And with that, Ali sadly trekked back with her mother.

The others exchanged glances, not sure what to do, but they didn't have time to think for long. A familiar face quickly approached and wasted no time speaking.

"Hey, guys!" Star greeted them cheerfully. A little too cheerfully. "I figured you'd be pretty hungry after your journey, so I gathered a bunch of tree stars and sweets." She jerked her head to point behind her, revealing a large pile that made their mouths water.

"Gee, thanks," Littlefoot told her gratefully. His stomach suddenly growled as if to say, "Enough with the courtesy already and just feed me! I'm hungry here!"

"Where did Ali go?" Star continued. Asp was taken aback by her lack of a "You're welcome" instead replaced by a focus on Ali. He rubbed the tip of his thumb up and down the bottom of his chin.

"Oh, her mother found out that she left so took her back to the herd," Cera answered sadly, looking back in her direction.

"Aw, that's too bad," Star replied. The thing was, Star didn't sound sympathetic at all.

"About that," Asp began in an upbeat voice. "How many of us knew we were leaving?"

"Uh, I think just the six of us, I guess, maybe" Syn replied. She clearly left a lot of room for error.

"Exactly…" Asp trailed off. Then he turned to the female longneck. "So, Star, what was Ali's mother like?"

"Oh, she was really nice! Why do ya ask?" Then she bit her tongue, but it was far too late to say anything to save her. However, even at this point, the others didn't get it, but Asp was quick to rectify that.

He looked at her intently, his eyes piercing hers, and asked softly, "Why did you tell on her?"

The others turned to him in surprise then stared at Star.

"Star, is this- true?" Littlefoot asked in disbelief. He wanted so badly for her to deny it.

She backed up, at a loss for words at first. "I- just- just leave me alone!" she screamed as she ran off, her footsteps getting quieter at a rapid pace. Some children playing tag had to scatter to avoid getting hit by her as she blazed her way through the valley and away from her friends.

Littlefoot started to go after her, but Cera got in the way. "Let her go," she ordered. "Girls need some time."

"I knew that girl was trouble," Asp muttered, leaning back against a tree and folding his arms.

"Star isn't trouble!" Littlefoot shot back, getting right in front of him. Littlefoot bared his teeth, but Asp's look of complete indifference only made him angrier.

Cera hurried over and started nudging Littlefoot back, and Syn looked very sad. She hated fighting, especially between friends. It made her stomach hurt from worry.

"Easy, Littlefoot!" Cera shouted, almost in shock that she was stopping Littlefoot's aggression rather than the other way around.

Caught up in the drama, none of them noticed that Star was truly leaving. Not just away from them but completely out of the Great Valley. However, someone else did.

"Mother, may I go and get a snack please? I'm really hungry," Ali told her mom.

Her mother was trying to nap on a field of grass near the Thundering Falls but replied, "Alright, fine, but don't go too far. I didn't want you leaving my side at all, but I need to rest." She hated breaking her punishment already, but she was too exhausted from their journey and worrying about her daughter, and she didn't want her to starve, so she gave her one more chance.

"Thanks!" she called as she galloped off. Instead of going for food, however, she took off out of the valley again- after Star.

**Chapter End**

"Aw, here you guys are, as awesome as ever! What shall I give as a thank you for sticking around? A tree star? A hug? A bath? Ah, I know! How about a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love? Here we go! So yeah, I'm not the happiest longneck in this chapter, but I really turn things around when things get dangerous. Watch the epic mind of Stardipper at work! Oh yeah!"


	11. New Friends

**Chapter X: New Friends**

The ground was hard. There wasn't much else to say about the area where Star was walking. Rarely a tree in sight, barely a weed here and there, all that stretched out before her were some mountains far off into the distance and the occasional dirt mound, some small, some large enough to be considered a hill. The bright light of the sun seemed very out of place in this dismal area. Small, flat stones lied scattered about the ground, and the dirt was an ugly grey color. Small cracks were strewn throughout the area from lack of water. However, while the bright circle was a misfit here, Star's mood was not.

"I wonder if he misses me," she thought to herself as she plodded along. She was kicking a tiny stone as she walked but not looking directly at it. When she got deeper into her thoughts, she forgot to kick it and kept moving on past it. Finally realizing that her foot was no longer hurting with every step, she stopped, turned around, and went back to the rock to resume knocking it ahead of her. The mild burns from the hot sun made her flesh itch, so she stopped on occasion to scratch her sides with her back feet and nibble on her legs. She snorted. "Probably not with Ali around." She hated being like this. She preferred to let her mind relax and wander. It was so comfortable, despite making her hyper and a bit slow, but jealousy and obsession were taking over instead of her preferences.

Ow!" she suddenly cried. She slowly lifted her front foot to see a thorn sticking in rather deeply. There was almost no blood coming out, but that would change if she removed it. Not that she cared. She sighed in aggravation and ripped it out with her teeth, spitting the antagonist of nature onto the ground. Unfortunately, it had stuck into a very tender spot, forcing her to limp in pain as she moved along. If she wasn't hurting and so lost in her thoughts, she might have noticed that someone was behind her.

"Okay, Star, I think we just got off on the wrong foot. Let's just be friends, okay? No, too simple. Hey, Star, I think you're a really nice girl, so let's just forget what happened and go back, alright?" Now it was Ali's turn to be dismayed. She couldn't decide on what to say to her. She chewed on her lower lip in contemplation. Star was going to be a much harder task than Cera was back in the day. Maybe she tried too hard to be friends with others, she wondered. She wrinkled her nose at what she had actually considered saying. Star had been anything but nice to her, so saying that she was would clearly mean she was lying to smooth things over. She struggled to piece together a good choice of words while keeping her distance and not making much noise.

The two girls were each oblivious to a degree, but one thing they shared was a blindness to their rears. Following without being noticed didn't stop with Star. Ali too was being tailed.

A figure stood perched on the limb of an old tree. He was standing a little too far out, so the branch was moving up and down slightly until he finally moved closer to the trunk. "Hm," the figure said, rapping his wingtips together. "Two girls, I think we can handle."

Two other flyers, a bit lower on the tree, nodded while keeping their eyes on them.

"There was no way we could take down five of them together earlier," Rinkus began like before. "But now, yes, I think you're right. I can't help but wonder, though, what the residents of the valley are doing. Do they all want to die of thirst? It's not like there's some magic plant that can clean up the poison or anything."

"Yeah, we should have followed those kids earlier," Ichy said with a sigh.

"Who cares what those five were doing? Let's just eat these two!" Sierra exclaimed impatiently.

"We may be able to catch one of them. They're just kids, but longnecks are stronger than flyers, so trying to get both might be a bad idea," Ichy explained. "If Dil wasn't so far behind, it would be different."

"We may be able to get both, just one at a time. I could be wrong, but it looks like the one in front doesn't notice she's being followed. We could grab the one in back then go for the other later," Rinkus suggested

"Hm..." Ichy and Sierra said in unison. They all looked with watery mouths at Ali.

* * *

><p>Star decided to take one last look at the Great Valley walls before they were out of sight, so she turned briefly. The bright circle was just barely over the stone barrier, almost as if it was resting on top. Light shone down in little beams that scattered in downward motions across the fertile ground, though Star only saw the tops of them from the far distance that she was. The clouds were few and moved very slowly, only noticeably when staring at them for an extended period of time. A distant planet was still visible in the daytime sky, giving off the appearance of a star. The young longneck seemed distant, and her lips were flat. Her eyes glanced down for just a moment before resuming the grand spectacle she was leaving.<p>

Ali had her head down in thought during this time. All the possibilities of what to say were rushing through her mind, giving her a headache followed by a mild frown. Her face reflected that what lied behind it was lost, searching, yearning. Her lips were moving occasionally as a potential line crossed her mind, but all were dismissed fairly quickly. She barely saw the physical, only the emotional realm in turmoil inside her. This was her mistake.

Star's eyes travelled down from the sky until they rested on her stalker. She did a slight double take but quickly pretended not to notice. Resuming her march was all she ended up doing.

"Humph, has she come to ask me to return so she can show off how much Littlefoot likes her more than me?" Star thought to herself. She didn't think in literal words, but she answered her own question as she scowled. She exhaled slowly through her nose. Once again, she hated this whole thinking thing. She had so much more fun and dinosaurs liked her a lot more when she just let her mind wander. But she was too young to battle a foe as old as jealousy.

Those two had enough troubles, clearly, but things went from bad to worse. Their true enemies had run out of patience.

"That first one seems far enough ahead. If we nab the one in back, the front one'll never notice." Without waiting for a confirmation from his subordinates, Ichy ordered, Come on!" The three flyers swooped down from the tree with great haste leaving a few feathers behind as they glided swiftly and silently towards the pink longneck. They stayed low to the ground and soon had Ali surrounded. She screamed, but Sierra covered her mouth the moment it opened. The other two helped to restrain her as she struggled as best she could. Ichy couldn't help much, but Rinkus and Sierra had enough strength to overpower one. However, while they had unity in the capture, the following action was not so organized.

"I gave the order, so I get the first bite!" Ichy exclaimed, licking his beak and looking tenderly at one of her front legs.

"Givin' the order's easy. I got to 'er first, so I get first pickin's," Sierra argued, yanking her closer to him and away from the feathered flyer.

Ali made "Oomph" noises as she was pulled back and forth between the two.

"Since we got separated from Dil while we were being chased away, there is plenty for all. Does it really matter who eats first? Can't you two bite at the same time?" Rinkus suggested. It wasn't so much that he didn't want fighting within his ranks. He was hungry.

They both turned to him at once. "No!" they answered in unison. Rinkus sighed.

Farther ahead, Star was crouching behind a large dirt mound watching the argument unfold. Though it had been muffled, she had heard Ali's yelp. Star looked off into the horizon then turned back to Ali. Despite the danger Ali was in, Star smiled with satisfaction. Even though she knew Ali wouldn't see it, she mouthed the word "Bye" with a devious expression. Then, turning around, she walked away with her tail hung triumphantly in the air. She vanished from sight as the fight continued.

"I saw her first, so she is mine. End- of- discussion," Ichy was saying.

Sierra finally caved and folded his wings. He didn't know when that bellydragger friend of his might come back. Ichy smiled in victory and opened his mouth to take a bite, his drool sliding down his beak onto Ali's foot. She gagged a little from being grossed out but could do nothing else. Oh, but she tried alright. With a burst of adrenaline, she began struggling more than ever, but three grown flyers weren't going to lose hold of a child, longneck or not. Tears filled her eyes, and she swallowed as Ichy's mouth opened wide. However, his dinner was interrupted.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Star told him.

"Star!" Ali thought with relief. She instinctively tried moving towards her but was abruptly held back.

"What are ya gonna do about it?" Sierra asked her. He wasn't really curious. None of them were. What could a little longneck do against three full-grown flyers? Although they were expecting the exact answer that she gave them, it still caught them by surprise.

"Why, not a thing. Go ahead and eat her. Surely you aren't stupid enough to think I can overpower you."

They all wore an "Uh…" expression. This was a pointless scene. Someone comes along to the rescue only to say she can't rescue? It felt like one of those times when your mother calls your name when you're in the middle of something, then, as soon as you get to where she's at, she says, "Never mind." They had no response to this whatsoever, so they simply paused for several seconds before disregarding her completely and going back to eating. Once again, Ichy opened his beak. Once again, he was interrupted.

"I just, you know, wouldn't do it so close to the Great Valley. Some of the flyers there may see you," she explained.

"Good point," Ichy said thoughtfully, wing on his chin. However, he eyed her with great suspicion. What she sick or something? She was acting like someone in a dream, not at all how he expected a child to behave in a situation like this. Still, she gave good advice and could cause him no harm, so he relaxed.

"Wh- what are you- you doing!" Ali exclaimed in confusion and fear, starting to cry all over again. Her tears were so prevalent that she could no longer see no matter how much she blinked.

While Ichy was not concerned, however, he was alone in that state of mind.

"Yes, that is a good point…" Rinkus cut in. "But why would you help us eat your little friend here?" He cocked his head to one side and eyed her with one closed. His beak hung slightly open for a few seconds, but he shut it soon enough.

Star looked behind her as if she thought he was talking to someone else. "Y- you're talking to _me_?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, yes, I'm talking to you!" Rinkus exclaimed, now getting riled. "Who else could I be talking to?"

"I dunno," Star answered thoughtfully. "I guess you were really were talking to me." Then, in lower and more bouncy tone of voice, she added, "But listen, bub, try and get your facts straight. I mean, they're all curvy and, well, not straight. This girl here ain't my friend." Finally, in a whisper (even though everyone present could hear her just fine) she added, "Eating her is doing me a little favor."

Ali's body lost most of its strength.

"Yer up to somethin', kid. I'm sure of it. Explain yerself," Sierra told her.

Star did not hesitate. "She does nothing but get on my nerves. I've had it with her." Then she sighed heavily. "Gosh, I'm getting impatient here! Just shut up and eat her! There's a big hill just over yonder." She jerked her head back as a way of pointing to it. "If you take her behind it, surely no one will see you."

Ali had no words.

The three flyers looked at each other then nodded in agreement. They knew full well how powerful hatred can be, and they almost liked Star at this point. Ichy even began considering asking her to join them. She could lure out unsuspecting leaf-eater kids only to get nabbed by them. Their future was looking glorious. But his dream was quickly cut short.

"Now, in exchange for me helping you, you have to let me go," Star declared firmly.

"Fine, fine," Ichy replied disappointed with a wave of his wing. "By the time we get her there and eat her, you'll have gotten safely away anyway." He knew it would take at least Rinkus and Sierra just to restrain one of them, and he also knew that she knew this. A gentle wind picked up on the warm day, making them shiver slightly. But the true spine tingler was what Star said next.

"Uh, wrong! I wouldn't miss her getting eaten for the world. I'm coming to watch." Her cold but eager eyes made even the flyers uncomfortable, especially after she licked her upper lip.

The trio exchanged glances for a moment then grinned inwardly. "We'll eat her next," was on all their minds.

"Very well, we agree," Ichy replied "reluctantly."

They started dragging Ali over to the hill along the hard, rocky ground, but she was struggling very hard, slowing down progress exponentially. Her bottom was getting scraped up pretty painfully as she pulled back, but she really wasn't in the mood to be devoured. However, Star, impatient, finally began helping by pushing her from behind with her head. Ali kicked backward, knocking Star down and giving her a bloody lip, but she got right back up and began shoving all the more violently. Finally, they reached the large hill.

It was pretty big, mostly dirt, but a few weeds were scattered about on top. Some beetles were crawling around in the some of the colorful ones, looking for food. For a hill, it was pretty steep. They didn't care though since they weren't going up it anyway. They began getting Ali to the other side so that the mound was in between them and the Great Valley. However, they came to a stop midway, exhausted, every one of them.

Star grinned evilly, and Ali took one look and shouted, "This is why Littlefoot likes me more! You're just a- a- jerk!" And with that, Ali stepped down hard on Star's foot. Star reeled in pain, falling backwards on her rear, but once again, in almost no time, she was back on her feet. Star moved her tongue around inside of her mouth for a few seconds then spit in her face.

"Come on! Don't rest now! Your dinner is nearly served," she coaxed them while glaring at Ali. She gave Ali another shove, this one so hard that she bruised her back leg. The flyers followed her enthusiasm and began to lick their chops as they neared the back.

As the five of them finally came to the other side, Star called out, "NOW!"

A large longneck emerged from the back of the hill. Ali sprang forward in the confusion, quickly understanding what was happening, leaving the baddies standing in shock on the ground. With one swoop of his tail, he had them pinned onto the ground. They struggled but could not break free, nor did their biting phase him at all.

"Thank you, sir," Star told him with a smile. He winked in response.

"My pleasure," the old longneck replied. He seemed very old, easily at the age to be a grandfather. He wore a gentle smile on his face that was very inviting, and a bad tooth hung up from his lower jaw. "Always like to help when I can." When Star nodded in their direction, he pressed harder until it was hard for them to breathe.

Star strolled over to them and looked down with an emotionless expression, but that only made her more fearsome. "You're done causing trouble for me and my _friend_. Now kindly get lost." They gulped at the sight of her wide, unblinking eyes. She then nodded to the grownup who lifted up his tail in compliance. The flyers quickly took to the skies and were gone in barely a minute. When he asked if they needed anything else, Star shook her head with a smile. The adult grinned at the kids, said good-bye with a polite nod, then turned and left as well, leaving the girls alone. For the longest time, the air was deathly silent.

As the two girls looked at each other, a lot was said between them, but no words were exchanged. It was one of those moments were eyes did all the talking. They looked very serious at first, then slowly, Star broke into a grin, and Ali did the same. Now- mouths did their job.

"I- I am so sorry for saying that to you. You know, about Littlefoot liking me more," Ali began slowly. She paused, trying to recover everything she had done. "And kicking you and stepping on your foot, too. Are you okay?"

Star nodded.

"Thank you. Thank you for saving my life," Ali finished. Her head lowered a bit, but her eyes stayed at the same level.

"Well, you're most certainly not welcome!" When Ali lifted her head, she added, in a much more serious tone, "You coming out here saved _me_. If it wasn't for that, you'd've never been endangered in the first place. You have _my_ thanks."

Ali smiled and nodded as a reply. The two of them started to head back to the valley, side by side, and then Star formed a crooked smile and shot her eyes in Ali's direction without moving her head. "So, how long have you known Littlefoot?"

Ali too put on a coy grin and eyed Star back. "We've met once before."

"Nice, nice," Star replied, a bit too casually. The girls stopped, glared at each other for a moment then burst into laughter. The two friends travelled in silence for a moment, and with the danger gone thus making her mind clear, Ali noticed something a bit off about Star. She was limping.

"Hey, what happened to your foot? Are you limping because I stomped on it?" she asked guiltily.

"Heh, I don't think so. You're not that strong. I just stepped on a thorn earlier, and it was easier to ignore the pain before."

"Be sure to wash it when we get back."

"Yes, mother."

"Really, it could get worse off if that wound isn't cared for."

"Okay, okay. If I remember, I'll clean it."

The two of them made their way back to the Great Valley, entered, and heard loud stomping. They were amply greeted upon their return- Ali, at least.

"I just can't trust you at all, Ali!" her mother exclaimed. She loomed over her daughter with a solemn expression, and her tone was high. "You leave once, I scold you, and then you leave again the very moment I take my eyes off of you! I think the children of this valley are a bad influence." She paused then finished, "Perhaps we shouldn't visit here anymore." Her words stung Ali in a way that silenced her. Never return to the Great Valley? The thought was so horrifying that the moment seemed surreal. But Star wasn't done saving her new friend just yet.

"Miss," Star began, "I ran away and could have been seriously hurt, but Ali followed me and saved me. I owe your daughter my life."

Ali kept her mouth shut. Her mother turned to her in surprise and embarrassment, and her face and tone immediately softened. The adult longneck lowered her head and nuzzled her daughter's face for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, Ali. And I'm so very proud of you." Both mother and daughter beamed. When her mother straightened up, her young one had a request.

"May I go and play with my friends now?"

"Of course. You've earned it." Her mother had a proud voice when she said that. The two girls looked at each other excitedly and cantered off to find Littlefoot and the others. The pain in Star's foot had died down, ending her limp, so washing out her cut was quickly forgotten. They ran underneath an overhang of small trees and random patches of weeds. (The area was on a decline, and with all the trees blocking the sky water and bright circle, not much grew there.) Little puffs of dust shot up around their feet as they ran. They got to the bottom and made their way to the Thundering Falls, not only at the chance of their friends being there but also because they were quite thirsty. As they lapped up the cool water that trickled down their dry and cracking throats, they heard a noise of recognition from a familiar longneck. They had been spotted.

"There you guys are!" Littlefoot exclaimed with great relief. "We've been looking everywhere for you." Asp, Syn, and Cera followed behind in silence. They were curious where they'd been. However, a new thought quickly broke Asp's speech hesitance as he looked at the two girls' mannerisms.

"Wait, something's wrong," Asp said. He didn't sound all that serious or worried. It was one of those right wrongs. "Is it just me, or are those two being friendly with each other?"

The two girls laughed. "You can say that again," Star replied.

"Thank you," Asp told them. He cleared his throat. "Wait, something's wrong. Is it just me, or are those two being friendly with each other?"

Cera rolled her eyes, and Syn poked him playfully before he laughed. Littlefoot, Cera, and the yellowbellies couldn't imagine what had happened, but they were relieved that it did.

"Oh!" Star suddenly said, remembering something. "What happened with the poisoned water?"

"We put some fire moss in all the watering holes. The Old One said that they're all already safe," Cera explained, looking behind her at all the dinosaurs drinking happily throughout the valley. The sudden, new tension in the air was immediately vanquished. Star and Ali gave a little "Whew" in unison. With nothing dire going on and still having energy to spare, the reddish longneck was quick to change the subject.

"Anyone up for tag?" She bent the front section of her body down and wagged her tail.

Most of them grimaced at the thought of doing that again, but to their surprise, Ali answered, "I am!"

The kids played for a good, long while with no trouble at all. Littlefoot went first and ran around, going for Syn then Cera then Star. When Star was finally tagged, she went after Asp and caught him quickly to his dismay, but he laughed, having a good time as was everyone. This was a game. Fun. Relaxing. Friendly. They all loved it and each other. Then, just as they began to tire, Ali's herd approached. The rhythm of footsteps gave a peaceful echo throughout the valley, and it was clear why they were coming in this direction. Well, it seemed clear.

"Aw. You have to go already?" Star whined, turning to Ali.

"I don't _think_ we're moving out yet. We usually spend the night when we arrive at a safe place," Ali explained, a bit unsure but mostly confident.

She was right. The herd had only gathered to get some rest, walking past the children as the bright circle's shift in the sky was nearly over.

"Come, Ali," her mother called softly.

"On my way! See ya, guys," Ali called before running over to the mother. She lifted her onto her back, and they went together to a large patch of grass.

"Cera!" a loud voice bellowed across the valley. It would be hard not to hear.

"Coming, daddy," she replied unenthusiastically.

Littlefoot knew that his grandparents would call at any moment, so he saved them the trouble and headed back on his own. Star, Asp, and Syn followed. Seeing their grandson, the two old longnecks smiled. His grandfather actually had had his mouth open to shout when he had come into view. The three longnecks lied down in their usual spots, the adults together and Littlefoot not far off in his own special place. He turned twice and yawned so hard that his cheeks grew sore before setting his body down to rest.

"Good night, grandpa, grandma," he told them sleepily, his eyes already closed.

"Good night, Littlefoot," his grandmother replied. The two of them smiled at their grandson one last time before shutting closing their lids as well.

Asp and Syn walked over to where they'd slept the night before and cuddled up beside each other for warmth, and Star moved against the great wall, again believing that no one would hear her snore from there. They all drifted off to sleep in almost no time, and the Great Valley experienced peace and quiet for some time. However, deep in the night, Littlefoot awoke. He had heard a low noise coming from Star's direction, and he lifted his head and squinted in her direction. At first, he thought it was her snoring, so he laid his head back down and closed his eyes. Then he opened them once more in her direction, concluding that it was definately something else.

Star was shivering and her teeth were chattering. She emitted a low noise from her mouth, one Littlefoot recognized from when it's the cold time. He looked perplexed because it was a warm night and no wind was blowing. Nevertheless, he got up to see if she was alright. Her whole body was trembling, and he was very concerned. He went back and woke up Asp and Syn, explaining what he saw. They knew what had to be done. They scattered and began gathering dry leaves from various trees they could reach and the ground and brought them over, covering Star's chilled body. She seemed more comfortable but still shook.

"You two can go back to sleep. I'm going to stay with her," he told them, eyes on Star.

The yellowbellies yawned and complied. Asp rested a hand on Littlefoot's shoulder as he walked past, saying, "Just take it easy, alright? It's not good to miss sleep."

Littlefoot nodded and shot Asp an appreciative smile before setting his body up against his friend for the night. Star's shivering kept him up for a while, as it moved his body as well, but the power of sleep overcame him about an hour later.

**The following day…**

Star opened her eyes and sat up. She was confused as to why she was covered in leaves, but her attention suddenly shifted as to why Littlefoot was asleep right beside her.

Nudging him gently awake, she asked, "Hey, Littlefoot, what are you doing?"

"Huh? Wha?" he replied lifted his head in a drowsy stupor and looking around aimlessly. "Star…? Oh, that's right." His mind suddenly came into focus. "You were shaking last night, so I was worried. Asp, Syn, and I covered you with those leaves, but it didn't help much."

"You slept with me- because you were worried?" Star asked slowly. She was very touched.

"Yeah." Littlefoot looked up to see that Star's face was very red. He was sure that she was blushing, so he added, "Well, you know, it's just what friends do for each other, that's all." He was replied to by a kiss on the cheek, causing him to turn red as well and look away.

"You're sweet," she told him. Then she shivered again. "Ugh, why is it so cold today?" she wondered aloud.

Littlefoot turned to her. "It's- it's not cold at all, Star," he replied, bemused. "It's actually a very warm morning." He looked at her closely unsure if she was fooling or…

Suddenly, some Great Valley flyers flew overhead, and their shadows passed over the children, alerting them to their presence. Star looked up at them, and her eyes widened as she cocked her head to one side and opened her mouth slightly.

"Since- when can swimmers- fly?" she asked in a very curious tone.

Littlefoot raised a brow and then looked up. Then he chuckled and replied, "Nice one, Star. You made me look."

"You didn't see them?" she pressed further. She didn't sound like she was joking.

Littlefoot emitted a tiny sound from his mouth. "Come on, Star. I'm still tired, but you won't get me twice. Swimmers can't fly."

"But, but I just saw them! They flew overhead a few- a few seconds ago." She insisted so strongly that Littlefoot was getting uncomfortable. He took a deep breath and repeated himself.

"Star, those were just flyers." Then he paused in thought. "You must still be tired. Try and get some more rest. It is still early, after all."

"Maybe you're right," she replied, laying her head back down. The sound of footsteps suddenly approached, but only Littlefoot was interested enough to look; Star kept her eyes closed and tried getting back to sleep. The owners of the noise quickly arrived at their location.

"Hey, is she alright?" Asp asked her in a whisper, seeing she was trying to sleep.

Syn nodded in agreement and quietly said, "We've been worried about her."

Star's eyes suddenly slowly opened at the voices, but then she quickly jerked her head up in surprise. "Whoa!" Star exclaimed in a frenzy. "When did you two get taller than me?"

The yellowbellies exchanged glances.

"Uh, we're not," Asp said slowly. He could tell when someone was joking. Star was not. "You're just lying down."

"Oh. I suppose that I am at that," as if she really did just realize that. Then with sudden frustration, she asked again, "Why is it so COLD!" She began shivering again.

The other examined her closely. Littlefoot's eyes narrowed when he noticed that her face was still red. Surely if she had been just blushing, her face would have went back to normal by now. Then it dawned on him. He gulped and fumbled with his words for a few seconds before telling her straight out.

"Star," he began, nibbling on his lower lip, "you're sick."

**Chapter End**

"Okay, and I thought leaving the Great Valley to help that herd of yellowbellies long ago was pointless! Here's the stupid preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love: Star isn't feeling well, and that's a shame, but that isn't an excuse to have us leave on some journey into the Mysterious Beyond for the silliest- reason- ever! Oh well. When the friends of Cera the great threehorn go somewhere, expect her to stay by their sides."


	12. The Search for Hatred

**Chapter XI: The Search for Hatred  
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"Grandpa, grandpa!" Littlefoot shouted, running over to his nesting area. When he didn't find him, he turned his head from side to side and spotted him grazing near the Thundering Falls. Hurrying as fast as he could go, he passed some berry bushes being devoured by baby flyers until he screeched to a halt at his grandparent's feet. He nearly bumped into him. Grandpa longneck looked down and saw Littlefoot's serious expression.

Gulping down the food in his mouth, he asked, "What is it, Littlefoot?" His concern was clearly evident, but seeing his grandson unharmed, it wasn't to a very high degree.

"Do you know about a sickness that makes dinosaurs see things differently, act really, uh, weird, and feel cold when it's actually warm inside?" He had a pleading look in his eye and dire tone in his voice, so it was pretty obvious that he knew someone that matched such a description. Still, being old and wise, he made sure.

"I take it you that know someone going through this?" he asked him gently.

"Yes!" Littlefoot exclaimed so quickly that his voice squeaked a little.

"Good," his grandpa replied.

Littlefoot did a double take, shaking his head in disbelief. "Huh?" He wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. "How is being sick- good?"

"Whoever it is just has fire face."

"Fire face," he repeated blankly. His eyes squinted for a moment, but then they widened in recollection. Star's face was pretty red. Still, that didn't seem enough justification to refer it to fire. Wanting the whole story, he inquired further. "Why is it called that, grandpa?"

"When dinosaurs have something go wrong with their body, fire face may result. Their faces not only get very red, but they feel hot too." Littlefoot nodded to show his attention. "The thing is, it shows that a dinosaur is starting to get _better_ because fire face always comes up a bit before someone starts improving, not getting worse. Your friend will get better in time, but as you mentioned, there will be some odd sensations, so you will want to keep an eye on the dinosaur in the meantime. If the fire face gets too intense, he or she won't be thinking very clearly, and his or her behavior may get a little- out of control." After the explanation, he stood by in case his grandson had any more to say.

Littlefoot was clearly relieved, and he let out a sigh as if a great burden had been lifted off of him. "Thank you, grandpa." With that, he scurried back to Star before his grandpa could even give a "You're welcome."

He smiled after him, proud at how thoughtful and caring he was, and went back to eating greens from under the water.

Littlefoot wasted no time in getting back to the others. This time, however, he was surer on his feet and didn't slip. Asp was the first one to hear and turned, Syn and Star doing the same afterwards.

"Yay! Woo hoo! Littlefoot is BACK!" Star exclaimed as her face lit up. She stood up and moved towards him, trying to jump on him as he approached, but her body suddenly felt weak, so she fell on her belly. "Ouchy…"

Littlefoot rushed to help her up, assisted by Asp and Syn.

"Take it easy," Littlefoot told her. "You have fire face, a sickness. You're going to feel funny for a while, but you'll get better in no time. Just try and relax." Star obeyed by falling on him. He landed on his stomach with his legs outstretched as Star just lied on top of him, uttering sounds of comfort and rubbing her chin on his back. Littlefoot felt awkward, but he was too concerned for her wellbeing to get up.

Asp stepped back and motioned for Syn to do the same. He put a hand to a side of his mouth to block out some of the sound and whispered in her ear.

"I wonder how long it will be before he picks one."

Syn turned to him in surprise. He had been whispering off and on about the subject, but this was the first time he'd mentioned this angle. She saw it too. Littlefoot definitely had feelings for not only Star but Ali too. Still, this couldn't last forever. He was just a small patch of soil, only having enough nutrients to make one flower blossom. If two tried to grow there, the fertility would be used up, and neither plant would grow strong and tall. This was where the yellowbellies agreed. Where they were at odds, however, was who they were rooting for.

Syn liked Star better. For one thing, she knew her way more, and what she did understand, she appreciated. Star was funny, energetic, loving, and didn't hide her feelings. Perhaps she didn't always handle them in the best fashion, but one rarely had to guess how she was feeling. She was very apologetic when she'd hurt her, and Syn really admired her sympathy. Able to get over negative feelings of someone was also a big plus. Furthermore, she obviously had feelings for Littlefoot.

Asp preferred Ali mainly because he didn't prefer Star. His grudge had softened, but a dying tree can stand for a long time. He enjoyed Ali's subtlety. She seemed to have a crush but didn't take a literal approach, instead being a friend first and seeing if more might come of it as nature would have it. Being straightforward was rarely Asp's style of choice. He felt that romance should come about quite a while after two dinosaurs have met. The sort of "love at first sight" that Star seemed to portray confused him, as he didn't believe in it, feeling that love is like any living thing; it starts out as nothing and then appears and matures over time. On the other hand, as a result of no direct words from Ali, he could only _assume_ she had a crush, but her looks and tone were pretty obvious to him.

They knew how awkward the trio of longnecks would feel if their love lives were being discussed in great detail behind their backs, so they kept their comments to private whispers. They'd chatted at great length the previous night, and their stalemate didn't weaken. Asp hoped that Ali would show up soon to end the scenario that seemed to be pushing him more towards Star. Well, he certainly didn't need a star to wish on.

"Hey, guys, what's going on?" a voice called in the distance. Ali was approaching with a casual smile on her face, curious and looking forward to what the day held, but as she was close enough to see everyone clearly, she paused at the sight of the stack. Asp stared at her while pretending not to- until Syn poked him.

"You again!" Star exclaimed in a shaky voice, wobbly getting to her feet. Littlefoot stood quickly and had to steady her side to keep her from falling once more. Syn shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wasn't very strong, and the air suddenly felt a little heavy for some reason.

"Uh, yes, it's me," Ali replied slowly, unsure what was going on. Were they talking about her or something? she wondered. However, a glance at Littlefoot's confused expression gave away that he had no more of an idea of what she was talking about than she did.

"Littlefoot is- Littlefoot is mi-ine! So you- had better- get los-" Star, however, was interrupted by a coughing fit. It lasted quite a few seconds, and the last few hacks brought up phlegm that splattered on the grass. The other four stepped back in silent courtesy while Ali still looked perplexed. Littlefoot took well notice of this.

Turning to her, he began, "Ali, Star has-"

"A serious problem with you!" Star finished for Littlefoot. This time, he shot his glance at Star. She hadn't finished his sentence quite as he would have…

"So much for being friends," Asp thought to himself with a sigh and rolling of his eyes. "Hopefully, she'll make a fool of herself, making him lean more towards Ali." He plopped onto his belly and put his elbows on the cool grass, resting his head on his hands. Not quite satisfied with the setup yet, he put a small piece of grass halfway into his mouth to chew on and lifted his back legs up into the air and moved them back and forth in a slow rhythm. Syn sighed at his extreme display of casualness and sat down beside him with her legs folded. She watched this event unfold were great concern and nibbled on her index finger without realizing it.

"W- what did I do?" Ali replied, a bit taken back by the sudden change of orientation. After everything they'd just went through, she didn't want to lose her new friend. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her mouth to brace herself. She was going to accept her criticism, apologize, and set things right. Looking at Star expectantly, she remained silent.

"You, little girl, are in my waaay." Star sounded especially weird the way she dragged out her last word, and the shift in tone sounded completely random, as if it had no meaning whatsoever. And she wasn't done. "Littlefoot, yes, Littlefoot," she continued, her tone sounding as if she was elated, "belongs to me- ME! Now then, now then! I- will not- have youuu- gettin' in my way, 'kay?" Then she shivered as if hit by a blast of chilling wind. She staggered a bit, and before anyone could react, Star quickly turned and kissed Littlefoot- on the lips. His eyes shot open, and for a brief moment, he instinctively pressed back. However, when his mind wrapped itself around everything that was happening, he jerked back and spit onto the ground.

Doing his best to remain composed and understanding, he said, "Star, you should lie back down! You're not well. Just- lie back down, please."

Ali was speechless for a moment. Asp noticed this with great interest, pausing the motion in his legs temporarily. Syn glanced at him and shook her head. Finally, the longneck found her voice and asked in a concerned tone, "What's- what's wrong with her?"

"It's fire face," Littlefoot replied. Ali's look revealed that she'd never heard of it, so he added, "She's only acting this way because she's sick." Ali's mixed expression since Star's kiss finally picked a single emotion to display- sympathy. This really ticked Star off.

"I'm perfectly, perfectly, PERFECTLY fine!" she exclaimed, the "fine" shooting out of her mouth like a rock being thrown. "The only _sick_ness around here is me being _sick_ of YOU," she finished, looking at Ali. "Now get your ugly rear- into a place that isn't here!"

Ali understood that Star wasn't well, but her comments were still painful. Just what was the illness doing? Making her honest, meaning she'd never really made peace with her? Was it bringing back old feelings that don't exist anymore? Maybe amplifying them in the process? She never found out, but it didn't matter. Words are words, and they can pierce deeper than any meat-eater tooth. It didn't help either that Ali was still a little tired from having just woken up. The morning moodiness that she had always managed to conceal mixed with the verbal assault to create a flood of anger. What she did next surprised even her. She had never done anything like it before and had always been too collected for her actions to come anywhere close. Now, though, she was acting on pure instinct.

"You want Littlefoot so badly, huh?" she began softly, not even recognizing herself. She walked over to an unsuspecting Littlefoot- and kissed him on the lips as well. Breaking away, looking at Star, she replied curtly, "Well I'm sorry."

"Rrr, you!" Star shouted before tackling her. She was still unsteady, but the adrenaline rush gave her enough strength for a successful leap. The two girls rolled around in the dirt, Ali on bottom, then Star, then Ali again. They didn't do much else than tumble though Star did snap at her with her teeth. Poor Littlefoot spit again, vibrated his lips together, and then tried breaking up the fight. They continued struggling with each other, creating quite a dust storm, as Littlefoot tried pushing Star off during one of the moments she was on top. However, the position shifts were happening too rapidly now for him to get a good opening.

"Please fill me in on what I miss," Asp requested with a yawn as he got to his feet and began dusting himself off. He spit out the piece of grass with minimal air.

"Where are you going?" Syn asked. Her tone was high from the tension this was causing her.

"I'm going to get some berries. I prefer dinner and a show," he replied, walking towards some bushes off in the distance. He didn't get far, however. Syn was on her feet and had him yanked back down to the ground before you could say "very aggravated yellowbelly." He went down with an "Oomph!" One look from her and he remained silent and still for some time.

Littlefoot kept following the girls as they tussled about, trying to find an opening to help without success. Star kept biting at Ali as she continued dodging her teeth. Eventually, Syn had had enough of doing nothing and stood up.

She tugged on Asp's arm and said, "Come on." He looked at her questioningly, but she only repeated herself and with more emphasis. He dared not wait any longer to comply. Walking towards the longnecks with her hands a little shaky and a look of determination, Asp finally got the idea: It was time to end this silly feud.

The yellowbellies each grabbed a tail, Asp getting Ali's and Syn Star's, and together they gently pulled back until they were separate again. However, Star wasn't done yet and was stronger than Syn, so Littlefoot diverted his energy to holding Star back as well. Ali stood there, huffing, crying, and standing still as Star kept jerking forward like a lunatic. It wasn't long, however, before Star turned back and bit Syn's hand, causing her to yelp and fall back on her rear. She charged at Ali, but Asp had seen the whole thing, and he- was- pissed.

He stepped in the way of the longneck, and though she tried to swerve around him, he extended his arm to his side and caught her by the throat. He did not even turn to face her. There they stood, Star on his right being grasped by Asp as he stared with great concern at Syn. When he saw her stand up, thus meaning she was at least okay, his head slowly turned to face Star's who was gasping for breath. Littlefoot stepped towards them, afraid Asp would kill her, but Syn poked his shoulder, causing him to turn to her.

"Please," she told him. "Don't worry. Asp would never harm anyone. Just let him work, if that's okay with you," she mumbled shyly. Littlefoot looked back at the two before standing down. He agreed that Star needed to be subdued for now.

In a frightening tone, Asp spoke slowly. "Apologize to Syn." When she struggled in response, he merely tightened her grip, causing her eyes to widen even more and lungs to work harder to get air. When it was clear that she was too cut off to speak, he said, still in an ominous tone, "I am going to let go. You have two seconds to apologize, or I promise that your throat won't get a second chance. Think very carefully then either nod or shake your head." Asp stood there a few more seconds as Star started turning purple. "Well? Are you settled enough to apologize?" Star was about to pass out, but she managed to nod her head slightly.

As Asp let go, she turned to Syn, tears filling her eyes as she choked more instead of spoke. Two seconds had long been gone, but Asp was patient. Finally, Star said, "I'm- I'm…" Syn looked into her eyes and saw the rest of her sentence in them. She didn't have to say anymore. So she didn't. She turned and ran off to be alone, horrified at losing it like that. Littlefoot wasn't going to stand back any longer and went after her. Ali just sat down, trying to settle her mind after the ordeal.

"Syn, if I ever get fire face, please stay far, far away," Asp begged her. Syn didn't have a reply to that. Instead, she exhaled slightly and looked in the direction of the two longnecks, hoping.

* * *

><p>"Star, wait up!" Littlefoot called to her. She was moving slowly enough with her weak legs, but he waited a few too many seconds before going after her, so she had a pretty decent head start. They were running through open land and were passing many grownups grazing. Some looked up, some didn't, but no one took any interest. This was perceived as kids just being kids.<p>

"No!" Star called back. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore." She kept going and even sped up a little, having gotten used to her new sense of imbalance somewhat. However, Littlefoot pushed himself harder too.

"It's not your fault!" he called ahead. "I know you're just sick. We all do. So please, just, stop running."

Star did stop, but it wasn't on purpose. Her legs finally gave away, having been pushed too hard without strength, and she tumbled to the ground. She was fortunate enough to land on a patch of flowers and grass, and while the plants didn't fare so well, they cushioned her fall. Littlefoot saw she was unharmed, so kept going towards her but slowed his pace to help catch his breath. When he finally reached her, he looked down at her face with a troubled expression. Star frowned and turned away, but her face was suddenly filled with the tip of his tail. She glanced back at him, and he said, "Take it." Star exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she took hold of his tail but gentle enough not to cause pain- well, much of it. Littlefoot winced only slightly then pulled her back to her feet. There was an awkward silence for nearly a minute before he spoke.

"Let's- go back to the others," he suggested. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Do I have to finish my apology to Syn?" she asked quietly. Having not actually hurt Ali, she didn't see a reason to say sorry to her.

"I think you already did." Littlefoot looked off into the distance as a strong breeze suddenly picked up, swaying the branches all around them. "Some things you say without words. Now come on, the others are waiting for us." With that, he turned back to Star with a sympathetic smile as he stood there in all the bright circle's light.

Star loved the way he looked and sounded just then. Most of all, though, she loved _him_. She nodded in agreement and slowly walked beside him, leaning against him for support.

The two longnecks walked in silence, but many feelings were shared by them anyway. Almost back, Littlefoot stumbled on a rock, but it was Star's strength that kept him from faltering. He opening his mouth slightly and glanced in her direction as if he wanted to say something but instead turned back and kept focusing ahead. When they finally returned, there were only two faces to greet them.

"W- where's Ali?" Star asked, looking this way and that. She wanted to make sure she wasn't still sore at her or anything.

"Her mother came by. Their herd is leaving. Well, left, I should say," Asp explained.

"Which way did they go!" Star asked him quickly.

"Whoa there. You think I'm just going to tell you so you can attack her again?" Asp responded. "I think I'll pass." All the while, he and Syn were crouched down over a puddle, and he was washing the bite mark on her hand. He was scrubbing with a sturdy leaf, and there were tiny tints of red in the water now. Star's teeth had broken the skin slightly, and he knew that unwashed wounds can make dinosaurs very sick. She bit her lip at the damage she'd done but again focused on her task.

"I'm fine now. You guys really knocked some sense into me, and though my head still feels a little hazy, I won't attack her again. Just please, where is she?" Her eyes were pleading. Asp didn't look very convinced, but he gave her a reply.

"They went that way," he replied, pointing. Syn suddenly looked deep in thought as Star began running in that direction, leaving the three of them staring after her.

"Wait…" Syn said slowly. "Asp, is that- is that really which direction they went?"

"Nope," Asp replied, resting his hands behind his head.

"What the- Asp!" Syn exclaimed. "Why did you lie to Star?"

"It's not that I was lying to Star. I was protecting Ali. It all depends on how you look at it though, I guess," he concluded.

"You- you- ugh…" Littlefoot uttered in frustration. "We had a talk, and she really is better now! I'm sure she just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings, but now she may miss her chance, thanks to you." He moaned.

"Well excuse me for trying to be protective," he replied somewhat curtly, finishing up Syn's hand and standing back up.

"In any case, she is still sick, so she might get hurt wandering around by herself." That being said, he took off after Star yet again.

Asp looked down with a frown, but Syn patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. The yellowbellies joined Littlefoot in chasing down their ill friend.

"Star!" Littlefoot called out, glancing around the valley. They looked through several groups of trees, at watering holes, and around bushes, and they even shouted into some caves. No response.

Asp and Syn joined in calling Star's name, hoping three voices together would be heard farther than one, but after no luck, Asp finally said, "Let's split up. There's no point in being together with something like this."

"Alright," Littlefoot replied, and the three ran in different directions, each somewhat going in the general direction Asp had pointed earlier.

Littlefoot continued straight ahead, Syn was moving towards the great wall, and Asp headed for a high hill to get a better look of the area. He scrambled up quickly and looked around. At first, though he squinted hard, he did not see her. He moved his head about with a hand over his forehead to block out the bright circle. He exhaled sharply through his nose, wondering where that girl could be. When he was just about to get off the mound, he took one last look- and saw nothing. As he came down and passed some trees, looking to his side instead of in front of him, he bumped into someone. Someone familiar.

Star was there, talking. That in of itself was nothing unusual- but what she was talking _to_ rather was. Asp stared at her standing beside him as she continued to converse.

"So, where's Ali? Shouldn't she be here with you guys?" she asked, looking around. However, the trees decided not to answer her.

"Star, sick or not, I'm sorry, but you're just weird," Asp told her, shaking his head.

"Yeah? How so?" she asked him, finally taking her eyes off of the trees and turning to him.

Asp exhaled through his teeth. "Do you realize what you're talking to?"

"The grownups of Ali's herd, silly. Can't you see them standing right here?" she questioned, turning back to the tree then him.

Asp put his thumb and index finger on his forehead as he looked down. He then proceeded to climb up a small distance of one of the trees, plucked a leaf off one of its branches, jumped down, and then ate it.

"Ahhh!" Star screamed in horror, backing away. "How can you eat longneck flesh!" she shrieked.

"Okay, that didn't resolve the situation like I thought it would…" Asp said to himself. "I will be blunt, Star. Those aren't the longnecks of Ali's herd. Those are not the longnecks of any herd. You, my dear, are quite talking to a clump of trees."

"Pfft. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Really want me to answer that?"

"Huh?"

Asp snorted. "What I think, no, what I _know_, is that you are very sick! You're not always seeing things as they really are. Just- trust me, and I'll help you find Ali's herd, okay?"

Star did trust him and began following then looked back at the trees and called, "Well, bye, guys! Off to see Ali's herd!"

Asp placed the palm of his hand on his forehead as he led Star to where Ali's herd had really gone. Littlefoot spied them moving and joined up with them quickly.

"I hope we get there in time!" Littlefoot said. "They move pretty fast."

"I'm sure we'll make it," Asp replied. "Things usually turn out for the best."

Asp spotted Syn nearby, cupped his hands around his mouth, and called to her, and she too joined up with them. Finally, they reached the exit of the Great Valley that Ali's herd was heading to. Cera was there, sitting on the ground just inside of the opening, looking off into the distance.

"Cera!" Littlefoot called to her as they caught up. "Did you see Ali's herd come through here?"

"A bit ago, yeah; their marching woke me up. At the rate they were moving, they're long gone by now. Why, did you want to see Ali again too?" the threehorn asked.

"Well, _I_ did," Star said sadly, hanging her head. "I just wanted to see if she hated me..."

Littlefoot gave Asp an angry expression, and the yellowbelly looked away. He knew this was all his fault, but he nonetheless felt that taking the precautionary approach was the best thing to do. As a result, he felt a mix of guilt and maturity. It felt so strange that he kept shifting uncomfortably. The longneck's gaze only served to make him feel worse. But at that moment, Asp had an epiphany.

"I say," he began, looking at all his friend's faces, "that we leave the Great Valley to find Ali so Star can see her again."

"That's a great idea!" Star exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied in a monotone voice, rubbing his face.

"W- wait," Syn cut in. "Shouldn't we ask your folks first?"

"Nah," Cera answered. "They'd never let us go. When we want to go on an adventure, we just- you know, go. Are you sure you want to do this though? Going into the Mysterious Beyond just to check on something that might be nothing seems a little extreme to me. Why would you think that, anyway?" she wanted to know. Littlefoot quickly explained what had happened, but Cera didn't see it as a big deal at all. Like Star had thought earlier, Ali hadn't been "injured," so what's for her to be mad about? While Star simply overlooked the need to apologize for a wound that can't be seen, especially one caused by a sickness, Cera thought nothing of it at all.

"I must do it!" Star insisted. "I must, I must, I must!"

"Alright then," Littlefoot declared. "Let's do this."

The five of them took one last look in their families' direction before leaving the safety of their home. They walked diligently under the heat of the bright circle, traversing over fairly hard ground but a bit comforted by the wind. It was lukewarm, but it was still cooler than the temperature. There was no water in sight, but they didn't care very much. Stopping for a drink would only put more distance between them and the herd. There was somewhat of a silence in the air, only lacking completion from the noise of a few insects, but Asp broke it even further. He was going to utterly annihilate the dreary mood if it was the last thing he did.

"This walk is so exciting!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air in a stretch. The others just stared at him. "Seeing the sights, hearing the cute little bugs, enjoying the breeze, getting exercise- a dinosaur couldn't ask for a more enjoyable way of spending a day."

"I don't know, Asp," Cera replied. "I don't enjoy this at all, actually."

"Heh," Asp replied, turning to the threehorn. "I tried, at least."

She looked at him with confusion, but his face revealed that he'd never explain. Suddenly, Littlefoot came to a halt and turned slightly, and Cera, still wondering what Asp meant, bumped into his flank.

"Problem?" Asp asked him, gazing in the same direction he was facing.

"Well, you know how we've been following their footprints this whole time?" the longneck began.

"Yeah?" Asp replied slowly.

"Well, look," he told them, lifting his front foot and pointing on the ground in the distance.

Cera, Star, Asp, and Syn looked ahead and squinted until they saw the ground that was too hard to be crushed by weight- even that of full-grown longnecks.

"Ooh, I wish Petrie was here!" Cera suddenly exclaimed in frustration. "He could just fly up and see where they are. Now we're going to get lost as usual if we keep looking."

"We can't give up!" Star shouted. Then she felt weakness in her ankles and had to be supported by Littlefoot who had been walking beside her.

Littlefoot looked ahead of them then down to the flushed Stardipper leaning on him. He nibbled on his lower lip before saying what needed to be said. "We shouldn't have come in the first place," he finally admitted, knowing it was going to be hard for Star to hear. "Not with you sick like this. And now that we have no sure way to follow them, I just can't see any reason to risk your safety."

Star stomped her foot. "I am not, I repeat, I am going to stop until I see Ali!" Then she coughed a few times, getting spit on the side of his neck which he politely ignored.

"Yeah, I second that. Without a flyer, I can see no chance of success," Asp chimed in sadly.

"Then allow me to help, if I may, that is," a polite voice called from above. Everyone looked up suddenly to see a familiar face. Well, it was familiar to two of them anyway.

"Guido!" Littlefoot and Cera exclaimed in unison.

**Chapter End**

"Does trouble follow us wherever we go or something? Living in the Great Valley isn't as peaceful as I thought it would be… Still, I guess things are at least exciting. Allow me to give you reader folks a little preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. Don't want a preview? Hm, what to do…? Deal with it, 'cause you're getting one! Bonds are tested, but worst of all, something bad happens to Syn! That's all for the preview. Want more? How should I respond…? No! Asp has spoken!"


	13. Betrayal from the Sky

**Chapter XII: Betrayal from the Sky**

"What are you doing way out here?" Littlefoot asked with a grin, watching the glider descend slowly towards him. Standing on hard, barren land with no aspects of nature save a few struggling-to-survive trees and ugly swamps, the old face was a welcome sight.

"That-" he began, raising a feathered wing into the air, "is a very good question!" he replied, landing on his head. "I'm searching for the sharptooth that scared me the other day so that I may have my revenge! Once and for all! Mwuahahahaha!"

"Seriously?" Cera asked skeptically. Him getting frightened sure sounded right, but going back after one didn't seem to fit his personality at all.

"Heh ha!" he answered, slapping his hip. "That was a good one, huh?" When everyone just stared at him, he cleared his throat and continued. "Actually, I must have been sleep flying again because I woke up a lot farther away from where my nest was. Anyway, where's Petrie? I wanted to see him most of all."

"Is that so?" Cera asked with a smirk.

"Err, I mean, well, I didn't mean I like him more, it's just, you know, I used to stay with him, and I sort of connected with him best. Uh, not that I didn't connect with the rest of you a lot too, just not as much. Though, that wasn't your guys' fault or anything! He just gave me the most kindness. Wait! I didn't mean he was nicer than you all, I just meant that he showed it most. Oh! That is to say, you all showed a lot too, it's just that-"

Cera sighed. "Yep, it's the same old Guido. You haven't changed a bit."

"Heh heh…" he chuckled, lowering his head but not his face.

"Well, I'm just glad you didn't run into any sharpteeth this time," Littlefoot told him, relieved. "Now, we're sort of in trouble. We're looking for a herd of longnecks so Star here can speak to one of them. We're also kind of in a hurry because she's sick."

"Which one is Star?" Guido asked curiously looking at all the newcomers.

At that moment, Star unleashed a barrage of coughs and plopped onto the ground.

"Don't answer that," Guido added quickly, now clear on who it was. "So, do you know the general direction they went?"

"Well, the last we saw of their footprints, it was that way," Littlefoot answered, pointing with his head. "But for all we know, they could have made a turn or two. But they didn't leave that long ago. If you fly up really high, you should be able to see them."

"Gotcha," Guido replied. He jumped off of Littlefoot, spreading his wings as he glided up to a great height.

"See anyone?" Star called up to him.

"I see-" he began, and everyone looked hopeful and opened their mouths slightly. "Nobody," he finished, and everyone hung their heads. "Don't worry, though. I'll fly around the area and come back if I see anyone. Well, if I don't see anyone soon, I may just come back anyway. Err, not that I'm a quitter! I just don't want to be looking for too long. Oh, I'm really not impatient, though! I just don't think it would be wise to-"

"Just go already!" Cera exclaimed.

"On my way," Guido called down, and soon, he was no longer in sight.

"What should we do in the meantime?" Cera asked. She emitted a low sound from her mouth indicating impatience and boredom, though combined, they created a little irritability as well. She plopped down onto her rear a little too emphatically causing the boys to mentally roll their eyes.

"We should probably stay here," Littlefoot replied.

"Obviously!" she retorted. "I meant to pass the time!"

"Sorry," Littlefoot said meekly, not wanting to cause an argument.

Cera flinched at her own tone. "No, I'm sorry. I can just get a little cranky when I'm hungry."

Syn opened her mouth for a moment as if to say something but did not. She hoped no one had noticed, but Asp had. He gave her a little nudge that said, "Don't be shy," and she smiled a thank you in return.

"I think- I may have an idea- for a game," Syn spoke up slowly, rubbing her fingers together and looking down.

"Ooh, I love your ideas!" Asp told her, eager to hear what she had in mind. "What is it?"

"We take turns thinking of something. While one of us has something in mind, the rest of us take turns asking one question about it to figure out what it is. Now, if the one with the thing in mind finds the question to be too much of a giveaway, that dinosaur can refuse to answer, then that one has to try a different question. However, if you guess wrong, you're out of the game until someone else picks something, so be careful with your guesses."

"Love it!" Asp exclaimed. "This is going to be great! Three cheers for Syn!"

She blushed. "Really, Asp, it's not as good as your ideas. Thank you though."

"Don't belittle yourself, Syn."

"I'm not. I just don't think it was so amaz-"

"Can we just start this game?" Cera interrupted. "I'm bored. Extremely." She had to admit, though, that she found their arguments highly amusing. They weren't like regular ones. Normally when dinosaurs argued, it was to prove their own superiority in a matter, be it ability, knowledge, experience, and whatnot. Yet, with these two yellowbellies, they typically disputed the superiority of the _other_. She wondered what life would be like in the Great Valley if more dinosaurs stood up for each other rather than themselves when they fought. She immediately laughed to herself while imagining her father and Littlefoot's grandfather doing it.

_"You're much better at leading the herd than I am!" Topsy exclaimed._

_ "Really, Mr. Threehorn, your wisdom is far greater than my own," his grandfather admitted._

_ "Bah!" he continued. "Why, you're the smartest longneck, no, dinosaur, in the whole world! I insist that you give me orders for everything I do- how to eat, how to parent, how to bathe!"_

Cera found the image so humorous that little noises were emitting from her mouth, but she did her best to hide them. Fortunately, the others were too focused on the game. Littlefoot had taken charge and was giving his opinion on how things should go down.

"Okay. I say Syn goes first because it was her idea," Littlefoot suggested.

"Um, sure," she replied nervously, hoping she could think of something good. After only a few seconds, however, her lips curled into a mild smile. However, fearing she looked silly standing there grinning, she quickly cleared her throat and brought back a serious expression. "Alright, I thought of something. Let's have the turns move from my right, so Littlefoot, you ask first, then Star, and so forth." The rest of them took a seat like Cera had for comfort and listened intently.

"Is it something that grows?" Littlefoot asked.

"Well, that depends…" Syn replied slowly.

"Depends on what?"

"Sorry, you already asked your question."

"But I didn't get an answer."

"Depends is an answer," Asp cut in. "Let's just move along."

"Is it a kind of creature?" Star wanted to know before letting out a few coughs.

"Nope."

Cera thought for a moment. "Does it have anything to do with water?"

"Yes."

"A watering hole!" Cera shouted for her answer. "They can grow if there is sky water, but if there isn't any, they won't. That explains the 'depends' part of one growing."

Syn exhibited a combination of a frown and grimace then bit her lip. What she was about to say would be very uncomfortable for her. Disagreements, going against someone in any way, put a lump in her throat and made her feel a little queasy. She loved for life to just flow forward. Someone says something, and others either go along it with at first or find some way to make it work. Completely refuting a comment always made the one who made it unhappy in some way. No one ever likes to be wrong or shortsighted, so countering someone was a guaranteed way to lower someone's mood at least slightly. Ugh, why hadn't she thought of this before she started? she wondered in anguish.

Perhaps she was overreacting, making a huge issue in her mind about something so trivial that no one else gave it any thought. After all, dinosaurs disagree all the time. It's a normal part of life. But still, still, Syn hesitated. It was one thing for someone else to disagree. This was _her_. Asp was the only one in the world she could go against, but even then, it was always more playful than anything else. She wanted to cry a little; she was just far too sensitive. To the little yellowbelly, saying someone was wrong was like finding someone's mood on the ground and then stomping on it. She would feel so wrong, so remorseful, if she bothered Cera in any way that she considered lying, telling her that she was right and moving on. Yet, that too would give her a great sense of guilt. As she stood there, tearing herself apart with her fears, Cera, who had gotten to understand her very well, saw the dismayed look on her face, and Syn loved the threehorn dearly from this point on.

"Oh wait, never mind," she began. "I'm sure that can't be it, so I'm out. Asp, you're next." Littlefoot and Asp didn't understand what just happened, as Syn had said nothing, and Cera had never lost a game by her own accord, but seeing the girls smiling at each other, Syn doing so with great relief, they didn't press the issue.

"Let's see now- a question…" Asp began thoughtfully, looking up with a hand on his chin. "Is it something-" he paused, as he had started talking without any direction yet, just getting the general opening out of the way, "I- enjoy- coming in contact with?"

"Mm, that depends."

Asp slumped forward with disappointment. He thought he had had a great question that would only help him to win, but it didn't help at all.

"Are there any in the Great Valley?" Littlefoot wanted to know.

"Yes."

"That was a stupid question!" Cera remarked. "There is a bunch of things in the Great Valley! How does that help you out at all?"

"Oh…" the longneck replied, embarrassed at the accuracy of the accusation.

Syn shifted around uncomfortably. Had she picked something too hard?

"Is it edible?" Star tried before coughing up phlegm onto her cheek.

"Uh, I'm not sure how to answer that," Syn began, wiping her face off. "Well, I mean, I do know, but I think it would make it too obvious. Try again, please."

"How big is it?"

"That depends."

"Ugh, this is taking way too long!" Cera exclaimed, patience gone, getting to her feet. It wasn't that big of a deal that she had lost, but she didn't want to sit here all day on the same one. Cera was just like that. Her tone can change in an instant, from gentle to furious. "How is anyone supposed to guess it if nearly every question doesn't have a real answer?"

"Back off, Cera. She isn't doing anything wrong. We're just not asking good questions," Asp told her with a threatening tone.

"Humph!" she grunted, sitting back down in a hurry and looking away.

"Well, it's my turn again, I see," Asp said to himself. "Actually, maybe these questions really _are_ leading us in the right direction. Plants grow most of the time, but not if they're dead, so that would explain the 'depends.' It's not a living thing like a dinosaur. It has something to do with water… Oh! Plants need water to grow. I don't always enjoy coming in contact with it… Well, that probably means it can hurt me when I come into contact with it. They can be found in the Great Valley. Finally, judging from her reply to it being edible, my guess is that part of it is, and part of it isn't. That means…"

"Asp!" Cera called out. "Are you going to ask for a clue before or after we become grownups?"

Asp grinned. "No, Cera. I'm not going to ask for a clue about this now, today, or even again, for that matter. Syn, it's a tree, isn't it?"

Syn released a sigh of relief. "Yes!"

"Yay, heh heh!"

"How did you figure that out, Asp?" Littlefoot wanted to know. "Most of the questions weren't answered."

"Sometimes, Littlefoot, not getting an answer can tell you a lot," Asp answered, trying to sound wise. The others just stared at him. "Anyway, it's my turn, right?"

"Yep," Syn told him. "I forgot to say that the winner gets to go next."

"Nice! Alrighty then, let's get this started again. I already have something in mind," Asp replied, rubbing his hands together.

* * *

><p>"Whew, this task is more strenuous than I thought it would be!" Guido said with a huff. "I've been flying all over and nothing. Nothing at all. Not one single thing." He continued gliding diligently though; he so wanted to help out his old friends. At least it was a clear day. The bright circle was warm and inviting, and the few clouds lingering about were white and beautiful. On the other wing, all he'd found below so far were a few rocks. "If only they were looking for a herd of stones," he joked to himself. Then he stopped and squinted in the daylight. Something was in the air not far from him, and that something was a someone. "I wonder who that could be."<p>

The other hadn't noticed him yet who seemed to be in thought. He was looking around but not frequently, just moving his head in various directions every few seconds, but he appeared lost, as he kept glancing in the same directions.

"Hey there!" Guido called to him. Startled, he turned to face the glider. The complete lack of friendliness, patience, concern was worn all over his face. Guido gulped slightly, fearing he was being a nuisance, but he had to try.

"Whatever you want, ask someone else," he replied, continuing to look around.

"There is no one else, so I'll ask you anyway," Guido told him with a smirk. "Seen a herd of longnecks pass by recently?"

The flyer suddenly started to smile, and Guido couldn't tell if it was because he suddenly wanted to help or his mindset was something less charitable. "Yeah, I did. They went that way," he told him, pointing off into the distance.

"Thanks a bunch!" But as Guido turned to leave, the flyer called out to him.

"Wait!"

"Eh? What is it?" Then his face lit up. "Oh, I get it. You want me to return the favor, right? What can I do for you?"

"Well, I flew really far away from a place called the Great Valley, and now I can't seem to find it anywhere. Do you know which direction it is?"

"I sure do! I used to live there, and I'm out with some of the residents right now. Just keep going this way, veer off to the right when you find a small clump of trees then you should find it shortly after the turn."

"Thanks..." he replied slowly, soaking up all of his words. "And uh, just one more thing..." His tone was sounding a little odd at this point. "You say- you're traveling with some of the residents- of the Great Valley?"

"You got it. It's a goofy herd though. Two longnecks, two yellowbellies, and a threehorn. They're quite a bunch."

The flyer didn't say any more. Instead, he whistled. Two more of them entered the scene, though they looked nothing like him, forming an aerial triangle around Guido. Their faces seemed happy and excited though the faces, all aglow in his direction, made Guido grimace for some reason.

"Who's this?" the brown one asked.

"It doesn't matter, but grab him, the both of you," the first one ordered.

They zoomed towards him, each taking a hold of one of his wings. Much as Guido wanted to ask and believe, this was obviously not a joke; humor doesn't hurt.

"What? Hey!" Guido shouted as he struggled in midair.

"We're going to eat him, eh, Ichy?" the pink flyer asked.

"No, not yet, at least. He's a scrawny little snack if I ever laid eyes on one. He's actually going to be our path to a much more- rewarding- meal."

Guido looked at the three flyers, terrified, as they held him in place and began to talk with him.

* * *

><p>"Ah, I know!" Littlefoot said suddenly. "It's a yellowbelly."<p>

"Mm-hm," Asp replied. "I figured choosing my own kind would be so obvious that none of you would think I picked it, giving me an extra advantage."

Syn poked him playfully. "Asp! The point of the game isn't to see how long you can keep dinosaurs guessing."

"Oh. Oops. Well, what is the point, then?"

Syn giggled. "It's to have fun, silly."

"I knew that," he said quickly in a silly tone.

Everyone laughed. Littlefoot let out a happy sigh and looked off into the distance. These were good times. Spending moments like this with friends and having fun was the best thing in the whole world, he thought. He missed, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike, but he was still content as he waited for their return. He wanted to think something along the lines of comparing his new three companions to his old three to sort of honor the ones gone and find greater appreciation for who was there now, but try as he might, Asp, Syn, and Star were not like anyone he knew. Therefore, he simply felt a great satisfaction for how his life was turning out. He turned his gaze back to his friends and seemed to be looking at them but was really looking through them, taking in all they had to offer the world.

So absorbed with the present, all five of them had completely lost sight of why they were there, but they were quickly reminded. A lone shadow passed over them, blocking each one's light, one at a time. They all glanced up and were relieved to see Guido landing before them, looking very serious.

"Hey, Guido, did you find them?" Star asked hopefully. "I'll give you a kiss if you did!"

"Ah, uh, well I, I suppose I did- find them." He was rapping his wingtips together rhythmically and not looking at any of them.

As promised, Star stepped forward to kiss him, but she was overcome with a coughing fit and hacked all over him.

"Sorry!" Star said quickly.

"It's perfectly alright," he replied, wiping his face off.

"So um, just uh, come with me, I guess." As he was about to take back to the skies, Syn halted him with a question.

"What's wrong, Guido?" she asked quietly and with no doubt of the validity of the inquiry.

The others turned to her with questioning looks. Littlefoot, Cera, and Star saw no reason for the question, and while Asp noticed that he was different from before as well, to him, the little glider was just being goofy again, only with a different tone. He himself had done things like that before, seemed very different and serious as merely a new style of coming across to see how creative he could be as a means of humor. Guido was acting just so. Syn knew this, so Asp gazed at her perplexingly.

Guido cringed. How had she seen through him so easily? Still, he had work to do, and blowing his cover would be trouble.

"I'm just tired from all the flying," he replied, yawning midsentence.

Syn's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing more.

"Well then, would you like to ride?" Littlefoot offered.

"Thanks, but that is quite alright. I can lead better from up here," he answered. The longneck nodded, and as he began flying off at a slow enough pace for the land dwellers to keep up, they followed him.

As he soared through the skies, the two yellowbellies lagging behind a little, Syn whispered to Asp, "What do you think is really wrong with him?"

In a gentle, soothing voice, he responded, "Syn, you worry too much, you know that? Just relax. Everything's fine." As he assured her, he placed an arm around her neck. She leaned against him but was bothered by the fact that Asp wouldn't take her seriously. She KNEW that something was up, and it certainly wasn't that Guido was simply tired. Glancing up at the glider, his eyes were seen darting about nervously. However, her line of thought was suddenly cut short.

"Eyah!" Syn suddenly screamed, clutching her stomach and falling to her knees. From her throat came a terrible-sounding cough, a combination of wheezing, gasping, and choking. With wide eyes and a loss of balance, she instinctively flailed her arms and clutched whatever was nearest, which happened to be Asp. The others stopped moving and looked back, and Guido, having heard, flew down and landed beside her, and they all bore worried looks. However, Littlefoot, Cera, Star, and Guido saw Asp addressing the situation so did not get in the way.

"Syn!" Asp shrieked, getting on his knees. "What's wrong! What happened! Are you in a lot of pain!" His words shot out of his throat like bolts of lightning, barely audible and only understood because of the context of the situation.

She didn't answer him at first, but her breathing gradually became less forced and slower.

"Asp, you worry too much," she replied breathlessly with a weak smile only to suddenly start coughing again. "I just have this sharp pain in my stomach. I haven't eaten in a while, so it isn't because of food. Maybe I'm getting sick, like Star is." Asp put a hand to her forehead at once. She didn't feel hot- yet.

"I'll carry you," Asp offered, lowering his back down to her.

"No, thank you, I'll be fine," she assured him. "You all go ahead without me. I'll just rest here by this big tree, and when you find Ali's herd, you can come back for me then."

"No way!" Asp nearly screamed. "I am NOT leaving you here!"

"It hurts to move, Asp," she whimpered pitifully. "If I go, I'll only suffer more. Do you want that?"

"Well, no, but…" he stammered, shifting uneasily.

"If anyone comes along, I can just bury my head and look like a bush. I'll be fine by myself; just go. Every moment, her herd gets farther away."

"They can go as I remain here," he declared. Leaving her alone seemed as ridiculous to him as trying to breathe underwater.

"Please go with them," Syn pleaded. "I just know I'm catching what Star has, and that means I may start saying mean things to you. If that ever happened, I could never forgive myself. If you want to make me happy and protect me, leave me." Her voice resonated with approaching tears. When Asp hesitated, she almost screamed through a wavering sob, "Go!"

Star stepped beside Asp and nudged his cheek affectionately.

"It'll be alright, Aspie. We can talk along the way to keep your mind from worrying so much." As Asp still stood there frozen, a terrible mental war going on inside of him of what to do next, she gently took a hold of his wrist in her mouth and walked backwards, guiding him towards the others so they could keep moving. When at last he took his eyes off of Syn, Star let him go and turned around, and they all resumed following Guido in the sky.

They walked in silence save Star. There wasn't much to say with an air so heavy. Asp kept glancing back despite Star's chattering, but he did eventually begin to relax a little. Guido continued to guide them along the unforgiving wasteland until they eventually came to a small field of brown, dried-out grass. There were a few murky puddles of water here and there, but none of them were inviting for a drink. He landed gradually and started to speak.

"We're here," he told them quietly and with no enthusiasm. The most evident thing about the area to the others was- no herd. A paranoid tingle went down Asp's spine, but he couldn't understand why his instincts did so. There was no sound anywhere save a mild wind, and the only sight was the sporadic swaying of the grass.

"What do you mean?" Cera asked in a puzzled tone, looking around. "There're no longnecks anywhere around here. We'd see them from a long distance away."

"Guys," Guido began, rubbing his wings together, "I'm sorry..."

Immediately, Asp understood, and he screamed, "Run!" but there was no escape now.

Suddenly, three flying sharpteeth and a bellydragger entered the scene from different directions, forming an impassible square around the children. The flyers landed and started approaching with devious expressions and wings open wide, and the other was roaring fiercely and showing her teeth as she waddled forward.

"Dil! Ichy!" Littlefoot shrieked, backing up against his friends who were doing the same.

"And those old friends of Pterano!" Cera added. "How did they find us!"

Guido had landed beside his friends, and Asp's arm moved quickly. He grabbed him by the neck and glared at him menacingly. His look sent shivers down the glider's spine.

"What have you done?" he asked him in a deathly whisper.

"Betrayed us!" Star exclaimed. "Now I'm glad I didn't kiss you!"

Guido said nothing but instead merely gasped for air with his wings at his throat, looking at his friends in silence. He could not get them to believe just how badly he felt even if he could talk now, and he hoped that they would understand why he had had no choice.

**Chapter End**

"Okay, I'm feeling kind of awkward with this one, but since you readers deserve it, I'll give you a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. I always saw that Star liked me, I mean, really, really liked me, but to come right up to me with comments like this, well, made me very uncomfortable. I didn't think I'd ever actually hear something like, "Littlefoot, I love you," from non-family for a long time yet, and I'm just not ready for it. To make things worse, an old friend falls into some trouble."


	14. Wanting and Searching

**Chapter XIII: Wanting and Searching**

Dil approached the children menacingly. She grinned as her jaws snapped open and shut repeatedly. Along with the loud chomping sound, she roared, and drool slid from both sides of her mouth. If the children were watching her from a great distance, or perhaps if she was a friend of theirs, they would not have heard her footsteps. However, given the circumstances, each step was a bolt of sky fire thundering their demise. She crushed each patch of grass she stomped on, and the poor plants were slow to perk themselves back up. A blue flower never rose again.

Not a single thing moved; there was no breeze. It was as if the entire area was remaining silent and still in anticipation of the kids' lives. Littlefoot tried to swallow, but a lump in his throat had other plans. He, Cera, and Star were now backed up against each other's rears, all looking directly at the bellydragger, but Asp still had Guido by the throat and hadn't moved at all since picking him up. By now, the glider was turning purple, but Asp's grip wasn't letting up. Star turned back when she heard a raspy gasp and quickly moved to Asp's side. He turned to her, and she looked up into his eyes as her mouth hung slightly open.

"It's not worth it. Please…" her expression said loud and clear.

Asp took one last glimpse of Guido then tossed him aside into a pile of mud, and he splashed around for a moment before crawling out. He stood there, head hung, and didn't bother wiping the dirt off.

By now, the kids had almost no room to move, and all four of them had backed up enough to form a tight mass of bodies. Their foes were clearly savoring the moment and torturing them at the same time, though both results may have been intertwined…

Though this was certainly the end for them, Littlefoot had to know. He looked over at his old friend and asked, voice quivering but strong, "How could you do this to us? Did we- offend you or something? If so, I am sorry."

The others just stared at him in disbelief. Was the fear of death messing with his mind? Did he- just apologize to the one who had doomed them?

"It was the only way to save you…" Guido replied in a low tone, his head so low that his eyes were out of sight.

"Wh-what?" Cera asked, turning to him sharply. By now, Dil's face was so close to Littlefoot's that she could lick his nose, and Rinkus and Sierra could reach out and touch any of them. However, their leader wanted to squeeze every last bit of pleasure from this scene as he could.

"Give them a bit," Ichy ordered, and Dil stopped mid bite. "This is going to have an entertaining surprise, but he needs to build up to it."

Guido clenched his wings tightly, looked directly at Cera, and let the explanation fly out of his mouth.

"I accidentally told them I was with you guys! I'm sorry… They said- they said that they'd surely find you eventually, but that if I helped, you know, sped up the process, they wouldn't eat you or Littlefoot. It was either all of you die or just the ones I didn't know very well. I made the best choice! I did! So they told me to lead you all here so the bellydragger wouldn't have to go anywhere since she's so slow."

"Hey!" Dil called out, stomping her foot.

"Quiet, Dil!" Ichy told her. "And now, for the final bit of- entertainment- before we dine." Turning to Guido, he said, "Thank you for your cooperation. You can either fly away now or watch us eat them _all_."

"Wh-wh-what!" Guido stuttered in surprise, his brain not fully grasping what he'd just heard. "Y-you said-"

"I didn't _say_ anything. I _lied_," Ichy promptly explained. Turning to his cohorts, he pointed at the kids and ordered, "Now get 'em!"

As the four of them reached out their wings (or teeth) to take hold of the kids to devour them, Guido leapt up and made an aerial dash into Ichy, knocking him down. The other three villains stopped in surprise and turned to them. To the children's shock, Guido grabbed Ichy's shoulders and began slamming his head repeatedly on the ground. Littlefoot and Cera especially couldn't see goofy, easygoing Guido being violent at all, but clearly, being deceived into the demise of one's own friends can really change a guy. Ichy's eyes were roaming aimlessly around their sockets from dizziness. His team stupidly just stared, still trying to catch their minds up with their eyes.

"Get this- thing- off of me!" Ichy screamed.

The glider's actions were noble alright; he could have escaped. Yet, it was all in vain, clearly hopeless from the start. Guido could do nothing against four of them (or just Dil, for that matter). If he'd grabbed a sharp stone and held it to the flyer's throat as a threat, he might have really gotten the upper hand, but Guido was not confrontationally clever. Rinkus and Sierra came over and yanked Guido off so abruptly that they nearly dislocated his shoulders. Even in an obviously-inescapable position, he still struggled to get more aggression out on that worthless pile of feathers.

"One of you hold him this time!" Ichy cried, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "He could have flown away to safety, but for that, he's going to join his friends- after he watches them eaten first."

Dil roared and again prepared to chomp down on Littlefoot's little head. The longneck swallowed and gasped at the same time, promptly choking as his eyes widened in terror until his facial skin was at its limit.

_Step step, step step, step step._

Yet again, she stopped short, and they all turned to the noise of small footprints coming towards them. The meat eaters grinned. Littlefoot, Cera, Star, and Guido's hearts sank even further when they looked in the owner's direction. Asp's heart simply stopped altogether. Syn was approaching.

Asp fell to his knees with an unfocused look of disbelief. He had felt comfort in his oncoming doom because Syn was safe. Syn would make it. Syn could have a family. Syn had a bright future to live. Now…

He stopped hearing sounds. Littlefoot kept yelling to Syn to stop and turn around, but everything was surreal to the male yellowbelly. The whole world seemed to be moving in slow motion. Dil licked her chops as yet another morsel of food came right into their clutches. At her proximity, she could never escape their captors. She was as doomed as the rest of them.

In a sense, Asp had an invincible quantity of sanity. Nothing anyone could do to him directly could faze him enough for a breakdown, not even impending death. However, he did have a weakness, though it lay in another. Syn was the reason he enjoyed life, the pillar that supported his drive to carry on. Threaten that foundation, and that, and that alone, was the only way to shake his grip on reality. When he saw a ray of hope, he could hold on tightly enough, but thrust her future into perpetual darkness, and darkness is all he would see.

In a vague, unfocused sputter of energy, his brain just played the word "No…" over and over again. Then a voice suddenly called out, and as if time itself had stopped and now was playing at normal speed again, he came back to his senses.

"Move it!" Syn yelled to them all, looking back as she said so.

Still on his knees, Asp slowly looked beyond her, and his mouth hung open in the process. A giant sharptooth was chasing her, far off, but not too far off. As he gained in closeness to the gathering of dinosaurs, they could feel his footsteps shaking the very earth as his drool watered it.

However, still being surrounded by the bad guys, the children could not obey Syn's command. Fortunately, all three of the flyers noticed the beast, quickly took flight, and gained altitude to stay out of reach, and Dil, not understanding what was going on from not being able to see that far, looked around frantically. Ichy eventually swooped down then kicked her in the back of the head, telling her to hide.

The sharptooth came closer, and trees were squashed as he plowed on unhindered by any aspect of nature. Syn finally caught up with her friends and grabbed Asp by his arm, pulling him to his feet. Star grabbed Guido by the tail, and with a quick, upper thrust of her head, Guido landed and was nestled atop her back.

"Let's get outta here NOW!" Cera screamed, and they all began galloping away as fast as their legs could carry them.

Dil, however, was still in the path of the approaching foe.

"You lump head!" Ichy yelled down to her. "Move it or lose it!"

"Where to!" she exclaimed frantically, her head still teetering from side to side. "I can't see very well." Ichy loosed an aggravated noise from his beak, flew down, and began pushing her head in a direction away from the sharptooth. Curled up on the ground near a tree, Dil was finally camouflaged into the scenery just enough to avoid visual contact from the approaching dinosaur. The group of young ones, however, was not so fortunate.

The kids all ran close together, an easy target theoretically, and the sharptooth managed to increase his speed slightly. It was fortunate that Star was feeling better, as frequent coughing attacks here would have taken away too much of the oxygen necessary to run this hard. The meat eater was quickly gaining on them, and their bodies were starting to tire drastically. Syn was the first to start lagging behind, having been running far longer than anyone else, but Asp stopped, hunched down, and Syn got on his back without hesitation or objection.

"Don't lose hope!" Guido called from Star's back as they ran along the mostly-barren land.

The few dying trees they passed were soon crushed into splinters. At this point, they began running alongside a large cliff, a poor move. They no longer had complete freedom of movement, able to be backed into a wall both metaphorically and literally. They were almost gasping for breath now, their poor legs, hearts, and lungs feeling overworked and underappreciated. The giant was just barely behind them now, and surprisingly enough, a light of hope came in the form of- darkness.

"I see a cave up ahead!" Littlefoot called to his exhausted friends in between gasps. "We'll be safe there. Keep going!"

The other kids raised their heads and saw the hole as well. An extra burst of adrenaline presented itself as a reward for their hardworking bodies, providing a much-needed thrust that got them inside. They practically leapt into the opening, tumbling into a disarrayed pile of flesh and feathers against the back wall. The sharptooth lowered his head and snapped and then clawed at them, just barely missing Asp as they all pressed themselves up as tightly as possible against the back of the cave. He persisted for an unbelievably long time, finally turning to pounding on the outer wall in hopes of causing a cave in to drive them out, but he had no such luck. Beaten, he snarled in a rage and left. He didn't even bother hiding for an ambush; anyone could see that there was nowhere to be concealed. As the children began to breathe again, Asp lost all strength and crumpled to the floor from the top of the body pile.

"Asp!" Syn cried, diving to her knees beside him. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? What's wrong!"

"Heh heh," he chuckled weakly, looking up at her with a crinkled smile. "Like I always say, you worry too much." He scooted up a little to show he was alright and to get more comfortable but continued lying on his side. "I'm just tired from the run; you're not exactly as light as a tree star." After he winced from Syn's sudden poking of his forehead, he continued, "Oh, and by the way..."

"Yes?" she asked, leaning her face closer to him.

He poked her forehead back, though extremely lightly, and finished, "_Now_ we're even."

Syn started to laugh, but she stopped quickly, overcome with guilt. She had worn him out, and he had had a much higher chance of being eaten by carrying her. Asp looked into her troubled countenance and had something to say.

"Thank you," he told her.

"Huh?" she replied, wondering if she'd misheard. "For what?"

"I really needed that exercise. I'm stronger now, all because of you."

Syn could not restrain the giggling this time. He always knew just what to say to her. She poked his shoulder playfully, but he groaned in pain.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, quickly placing her hands on her cheeks in dismay.

"Sorry, my arms are still just a little sore. Not your fault. You didn't know."

"No, don't apologize to _me_! _I_ hurt _you_!"

"No, no, it was _me_ who didn't tell _you_ I was sore. I should have said something."

Syn was about to quickly respond with the fact that he couldn't have spoken up because he had had no way of knowing she was going to touch him in the first place, but she stopped when a better choice of words came to her mind. It wasn't that she honestly thought this was valid statement, but she did know that this was the best way to stop their "argument."

"Okay, let's just say we're both sorry, 'kay? No single blame."

Asp smiled and glanced at the ground. She always knew just what to say to him.

"If you guys are done," Cera cut in, ruining the moment "shouldn't we be getting out of here before that sharptooth comes back?"

"Yes," Littlefoot agreed with her, "we really should go now."

Then Guido, who had been completely silent, deep in thought up till now, jumped off of Star's back and landed on the ground. They all turned to him, knowing from his mannerisms that he was going to speak.

"Guys, I-" he paused, rubbing his wing tips together and looking away.

"Don't, Guido," Littlefoot told him gently. "You made the best choice that you could, and besides, you could have escaped, but you stayed to try and save us. You're a true friend, so please, don't worry about anything." Then, realizing that he couldn't speak for everyone, he turned to his friends for a little support.

"He's right," Cera said in a kind tone while nodding.

"Yeah!" Star added. "And I think I'll give you that kiss after all!" Guido covered his face with his wings, expecting another expectorant, but Star hadn't coughed in some time now, and her kiss's aim hit its target: the side of Guido's now-red cheek. "You're a great friend," she told him.

Guido's face brightened. "I am, aren't I? Well, not the best or anything, but I suppose I do have it where it counts. Oh, I mean, not that the rest of you don't, I just meant that I proved it. Err, you guys have too, I only meant that recently-"

"Guido?" Cera asked casually.

"Yes, Cera?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

After Asp got to his feet, they all left the cave but not incautiously. They looked around, but it was very clear very quickly that no one was anywhere around but them, so they all began walking back save Guido who traveled in the sky. Now that all the excitement had died down, though, a thought occurred to him. It was a good thought but one that perplexed. Asp couldn't contain his lack of understanding any longer and posed a question to Syn as a result.

Looking at her, he remarked, "So, you don't feel sick anymore? That was certainly a fast recovery, I have to say."

"Tee hee," she giggled. "I was never ill, Asp," she explained in a sweet, gleeful voice. As she spoke, she clutched a tiny strip of his cheek between her thumb and index finger and gave it a little shake before turning around and continuing her walk as if she had just said something as obvious as water being wet. Asp's brain, however, was not computing this information.

He stopped and dumbly asked, "…What?"

"I toldja something was wrong with Guido, and in case there was trouble, I had to be safely away," she told him with a grin without facing him. She tried to muffle her tone of triumph, but it shown through the cracks of her effort.

Asp lowered his head as he caught up with them. "I-I'm sorry that I didn't take your suspicions seriously enough. I just- I dunno, I just-"

"Don't worry," she courteously interrupted. "I'm just more perceptive than you, that's all," she replied, holding her arm in the air and flicking her wrist forward playfully.

"Heh-ey!" Asp replied with a big grin as they both laughed. The others just listened in silence. Asp and Syn's bantering was just too much fun to disrupt, and they smiled with pleasure. "That was a close encounter, though, despite that sharptooth finding us being pretty good luck."

"Not quite," Syn said back gaily; being right and saving the day had really put her in high spirits. "I shouted to him so the chase would let you all escape. Those mean dinosaurs can't get close with a giant like him on our tails." She knew that because she had saved him in the process, they were technically not even, but her mouth remained closed in a smile.

Asp turned to her sharply with a look of shock and admiration. The day was very bright, and they were now passing through a few trees on each side of them with long branches. A gentle breeze began blowing, and as Asp looked ahead, generalizing his vision from the rear, the limbs seemed to be bowing reverently as the heroine strode past them.

He rested a hand on her shoulder, and she slowed her step as she looked back at him curiously. Asp had a serious but warm look accompanied by a twinkle in his eyes. "You're amazing," he informed her. She beamed but shook her head, declining the glorious title he'd made for her.

Asp removed his hand, and they both kept their eyes looking forward, but Asp's sight was not on their surroundings.

Guido was looking restless gliding just a short distance above them so tried to be of a little more use.

"Should I fly up higher again to look for that herd, or is it too risky?" Guido asked Littlefoot.

The others all mentally came to a halt at once. That's right! They'd all forgotten the entire reason they had come out here in the first place. Star's face brightened, but Littlefoot caught her gaze and had to shake his head.

"Ichy and Pterano's friends can't be too far away if they even are at all. It's just too dangerous now; I'm sorry." Even though he was answering Guido, he was both looking at and talking to Star.

"But- but-" she stuttered miserably.

"I'm sorry," Littlefoot repeated, "but it's just too risky having Guido fly up there anymore, and besides, you're still a little sick and shouldn't be out here anyway. I never should have led us on this adventure in the first place."

"But I'm feeling _completely_ better now! Really!" she insisted.

Littlefoot looked at her closely as she gave him a big, toothy grin. Then, as if her throat had decided to tattle on her lying mouth, a mild but still substantial coughing fit emerged that made him sigh lightly.

"You can talk to her next time her herd visits us," he concluded.

"Aw! I don't want to wonder how she feels until then! Pwease!" she pleaded in the cutest voice she could muster.

"Let me tell you something about Ali," Littlefoot began. He did not sound tired or annoyed at all but clearly desirous to put her mind at ease. "When we first met her, a certain someone didn't treat her very well."

Cera shifted somewhat awkwardly as they walked.

"Oh? And what did she do?" Star asked curiously, eyes wide.

"Who?" Littlefoot questioned in return, glancing at Star. "Ali or the one who was mean?"

Cera's face seemed to display a small level of discomfort.

"Ali," Star promptly replied.

"Well, I can tell you what she did NOT do: hold a grudge," Littlefoot told her in an assuring voice. "I'm sure that easygoing Ali isn't upset with you. She knew you were sick, so I'm sure she's just fine. You might find your parents before she comes back, though, and if you do not see her again, please don't worry about this."

"If you insist," Star said without much enthusiasm but with plenty of relief.

"I do."

"Okay," Cera cut in, "now that that's settled, let's just focus on getting home." Asp had a strong feeling that he knew who this "mean someone" was. He snickered lightly.

After staying with the land walkers a while longer as they walked a bit farther, Guido finally said good-bye to his dear friends. It was a teary farewell, wrought with deep emotion. It came right from the heart, and it nearly choked up everyone present. It was such a warm, beautiful exchange that it shone brightly like the stars in a midnight sky.

"See ya!" Guido called down.

"Bye!" Littlefoot said looking up at him.

And with that, Guido began flying back to his home.

As the kids watched him fly off into the distance, however, they finally noticed the few dark clouds approaching. There weren't many of them, and they didn't seem very full. At best, they'd provide a light drizzle if they opened up over their heads… And that is exactly what happened.

The chilling drops of rain pelted their backs like being poked with icy claws. It sent little tingles down their spines, but in a sort of pleasant way. The day wasn't cold or anything, so it had about the same effect a cool breeze would have. Recovering from an illness, however, made it somewhat harder to enjoy the sensation.

Star slowed her pace somewhat, devoting some strength to involuntary shivers. Littlefoot noticed right away and changed his speed to match hers, leaning up against her to increase her warmth. She accepted this gladly and pressed back along with her face against his cheek as they walked in silence.

"Aw,"Syn thought to herself, looking at the two with a sparkle in her eyes.

The children were just about home now, and finally, Star broke the silence.

"Thank you," Star told him softly. "You're really sweet."

"You're welcome. And I really like you too," he responded, his eyes turning to her though his face barely did.

"You really like me, huh?" Star pressed eagerly.

"Uh, yeah, just like I do all my friends," he said back a little too quickly. This conversation was turning in a slightly different direction than he had been aiming for…

Star turned away, disappointed, and said to herself, "Ah tree stars, I thought I had him this time." Unfortunately, Littlefoot was RIGHT THERE, so he heard her clearly. He awkwardly cleared his throat and said nothing more. She wasn't giving up, though. "I have a bad lip cramp. I'd better use them real fast," she announced, looking intently at him.

"Really…?" Asp thought in disbelief at what he deemed the stupidest attempt at trying to subtly get a kiss. Syn just giggled at the cuteness of it with a hand to her mouth, and Cera rolled her eyes.

Littlefoot didn't make eye contact, but he certainly made a smirk ad he replied, "Then open and close your mouth a few times."

Star frowned and looked away. Finally, she decided to trip. This might have worked by catching him off guard if there was actually someone in front of her to trip over. Yet, the complete lack of an obstacle made her faltering incredibly obvious, slowed, and intentional. Littlefoot was ready and dove his neck down a little to catch her so she wouldn't get hurt from the fall, and Star moved her head so her face would make contact with his. However, Littlefoot easily managed to jerk his head forward slightly at the last moment, so her lips pressed up against his ear instead of the side of his mouth.

"That does it!" Star said angrily, straightening up. "It's polite to return the favor when someone gives something to you, and I give you my love, so give some back!"

Asp took Syn by the hand and had them walk on ahead. Cera glanced back but followed the two yellowbellies soon enough.

"I would point out several reasons why this is not- at all- the place or the time to suddenly get into a romantic frenzy, but this is Star, after all. The day she makes a bit of sense or gets any amount of timing appropriateness will be the day swimmers can fly," Asp announced to the girls, winning him a poke from Syn.

"She loves him, Asp, and that's a powerful thing. Just hope things turn out well with whatever happens between them," Syn told him. The trio was just far enough ahead to be out of hearing range when whispering but close enough to hear them.

"Star," Littlefoot began in the gentlest voice he had, "sharing love is not like sharing food or something. You can't really _expect_ to get it back. It's not something we can choose but something we have to feel. I can't just sit here and _decide_ to love you. A feeling is something that either comes on its own or not at all. If I chose to love you, it's not really love." Littlefoot's head was hurting from trying to be so philosophical about a topic he'd never discussed before, and he feared that he was making no sense whatsoever. Still, he would have preferred a request for a better explanation than the response he got instead.

"You love Ali, don't you?" Star just blurted out as if she hadn't heard a word he'd said.

"I don't love anyone but my grandparents and father. I've never given much thought to the romantic kind. I'm just so- young," he told her honestly.

"Being young isn't a valid reason! I'm your age, and I- love you…" she persisted.

Littlefoot glanced up. "Oh, look, the sky water stopped."

"Don't change the subject!"

Littlefoot looked at the ground for a moment then up at her. He licked his lips briefly then concluded, "Star, someday, I may come to love you. I really might. But if you keep trying to force it out, you're only pushing it farther away. Does that make sense?"

Star glared into space for a moment. "Fine. I'll stop asking. But one day, I just know you'll love me, and when you do, we'll be the happiest longnecks in the world."

"Could she be any more dramatic?" Asp asked Syn, forgetting to whisper.

"What did you say?" Star asked him quickly, looking sharply in his direction.

"I said that couldn't be any more fantastic," he replied.

"Oh yes, it most certainly would," Star agreed. Then she stared at the sky with an air of dread. "Well, let's hurry up. There may be more sky water later."

That being said, the five children finally walked out of the Mysterious Beyond and into the comfort of the Great Valley, even though a certain male longneck wasn't feeling very comfortable at all.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure that this is the right way?" a boy asked, looking up at his parents. He didn't sound as if he didn't trust them, though; he was just genuinely curious.<p>

"Should be," his father replied as he scratched his cheek and looked off into the distance. Then he turned his head to the left for a while only to glance right afterwards. He cleared his throat with as little awkwardness as he could muster.

Sighing, his wife said, "Admit it, dear. We're lost. Ask someone for directions." Not annoyed yet but simply tired, she wanted their trip to come to an end and to stop wasting time. Her feet weren't aching yet, but she knew her limits. Much more wandering, and they certainly would be.

"We are not lost!" he almost roared. Then realizing he had shouted at his wife for no reason, he immediately dropped his tone and collectively concluded, "I just need a moment to get my bearings, that's all."

"Well, when you finally decide to stop acting like the typical, male dinosaur and ask where to go, just let me know," she replied curtly (now she was annoyed) as she took a seat on the dry dirt and leaned against a large, undernourished tree. It snapped almost instantly from her weight, causing her to lean forward with an exasperated sigh from both crankiness and embarrassment.

"Hey, dad!" the little boy called up, tugging on the flesh of his father's ankle.

"Hm?" he replied, looking down. He had the tone he usually did given the circumstances, the "I-care-about-what-you-have-to-say-because-you're-my-son,-but-I'm-a-little-distracted-right-now" kind.

"There's someone over there," he continued, ignoring his father's voice and pointing over yonder excitedly. He wanting to stop walking too. "Now you can ask for dire-"

"I- AM- NOT- **LOST**!" he roared as spit came flying out of his mouth. His son cowered in silence. "Er, sorry about that, son. Just got a little cranky there."

"So…" his son began, not understanding the full effect of the apology, "you'll ask her where to go then?"

The father looked at his tired wife then to his tired child then thought about his tired self- then approached the stranger. His wife suddenly slumped over and smiled, clearly filled with great relief. She rubbed the bottoms of her feet tenderly as he spoke. Still a little reluctantly, the father and husband walked up to the fastbiter lapping up water from a large, murky puddle. However, they were well out of hearing range of his family.

"Nice, uh, day, isn't it?" he asked the fastbiter, glancing up at the sky but then quickly shooting his eyes in her direction making it painfully obvious that he wasn't here for small talk.

The fastbiter lifted her head and stared back. Her eyes were neither cold nor kind.

"It's hot. Nothing nice about that. Now what do you want?" Blunt, quick to the point, and willing to help out a fellow sharptooth- just what he had expected.

"Uh, yeah. Uh, do you know where I can find this-" but then he stopped. His pride just couldn't let him finish that sentence. He loved his son, supported his choice of friends, but to share the knowledge that the lad liked- The sharptooth shivered. "Actually, err, no, I'm alright. Thanks for the offer though. You have a good one!"

"Same to you," came the indifferent voice as she returned to the water. When finished drinking, she wiped off her mouth and glanced back up at the sharptooth who was walking back to his family. "Males and directions…" she said to herself with a sigh.

Upon his return, there was great cheer all around. The father promptly scratched behind his head just above his neck despite no itch.

"I'm so relieved that you finally asked for help. There's hope for you after all," his wife told him with a smirk and chuckle.

"Heh, heh heh heh…" he replied with a big grin and eyes closed, hand still behind his head.

"So, dad, which way do we go?" his son asked him eagerly.

"This way!" he immediately called as he began to lead them again. With renewed hope that they were going the right away, the mother and son had a pep in their walk, but the father kept a slow pace and hung his head in a dark silence.

They passed by more and more of typical Mysterious Beyond scenery: dried-out trees, dirt, rocks, and swamps. How- pleasant. Though they walked for several more minutes, it occurred to neither of them that their leader seemed rather gloomy for finally making guaranteed progress. Inevitably, however, the first complaint came.

"I'm hungry," came a small voice.

"Um…" his father replied, squinting against the bright circle as he scrounged the area for some source of food.

His father was afraid they'd have to search for some time, but to his delight, a rotten log was rather close by, sitting near the edge of a steep decline. He scooped up his son and walked briskly over to it. Setting him down, he shook the wood until insects of all kinds were crawling out. Some flew away to safety, but plenty were captured with ease by the child. Tossing the log back down, he decided to make full use of the opportunity.

"Enjoy," his father told him, heading back to his mate who had sat down. "And your mother and I are going to rest for a bit."

"Okay, thanks!" he called with his mouth already full as he plopped down onto the ground.

He munched on several colorful bugs with bright and crunchy shells and chewed a few ground crawlers. The flavors danced around his tongue like a pile of leaves blowing in a warm breeze. He licked his chops and wiped off some pieces from his face and his lap then decided to have a look in the log. Curious as he was, he wanted to know if there were other kinds still left inside. There was a large hold in the middle, far more than big enough for his head to fit through, and he gasped in delight at a small buzzer crawling around on a side. He pulled his head out and reached in in the general direction he'd seen it, but it was beyond the range of his scrawny arm. Not sure if he was even close, he stuck his head back in and even half of his body as well and saw he actually was. He pressed harder and harder, and to his luck, it actually walked closer to his hand. To counterbalance his good luck, however, it just so happened to sting his wrist.

"Ow!" he cried with great pain as he jerked up reflexively and bumped his head hard on the top of the log.

His hand and noggin were throbbing, but they were the least of his troubles. The impact knocked the log off of its delicate balance from the high perch, and it started to roll downward. He fell forward into the log even further to the point that only his feet were sticking out, barely.

"Dad!" came his muffled scream as he began building momentum.

His parents immediately looked in his direction and were instantly on their feet in a panic. They rushed down the hill to stop the danger, but even their giant legs were no match for gravity. The log continued to roll with increased speed, far beyond them, and in a matter of seconds, it crashed into a large, stone wall and exploded, sending pieces of wood everywhere.

"Chomper!" his mother screamed.

**Chapter End**

"Preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love heading your way from the cool longneck and friend Star! I have one word to say about the next chapter: CUTE! Well, on second thought, I have more than one word to say, and here they are: I meet the most adorable little dinosaur! Like, ever! Even though I see a familiar face, I don't know it is familiar because it isn't familiar to me. Wait… Okay, that didn't make any sense, so just read on to find out! Oh, but a bit of advice: cover your ears. For a little guy, he sure makes a lot of noise!"


	15. The Noisy Errand

**Chapter XIV: The Noisy Errand**

"Wha- where am I?" a young sharptooth wondered aloud, finally opening his eyes. The last thing he remembered was falling out of a log into a hole shortly after a bump during its rolling, and- nothing else. "Ow, my head…"

Chomper rubbed his sore noggin gingerly. Looking up, he saw that the hole was not deep, and he could easily reach the top with his hands. He extended his arms upwards and pulled himself out. Looking around the rocky decline he was on, he saw no one. Eventually, he eyed the large, stone wall at the bottom, as well as the jagged splinters of the log.

"There's something- familiar about that..." he said to himself as his head started to throb.

He made his way to the bottom and approached the natural barrier. Stumbling a few times from the steepness and haze in his mind, he soon found a small opening and made his way inside. He had no idea what this place was, but something about it was drawing him in, and he had to go on _something_. The cave was very dark and cold with the musty smell of damp moss, and he shivered slightly, wrapping his arms around himself as he gazed in all directions and rubbed himself for warmth. The constant but slow dripping in several places that echoed around him created an eerie ambiance. At first, the light from the opening offered adequate vision as he made his way farther inside, but it wasn't long before the bright circle retracted its gift. He could still see where he was going but just barely. It was then that he heard a noise behind him.

"Who's there?" he demanded, turning, trying to sound braver than he was and failing miserably.

Having no response fueled him to continue. When he heard yet another sound, he turned his head just slightly and moved his eyes back but kept going forward. That was a poor choice. He fell into a body of water and started to panic. He had swum a bit before and could tread well enough, but darkness combined with being engulfed in liquid is enough to frighten anyone. He splashed and sputtered around but quickly tired and went under. A few bubbles gurgled out.

The little sharptooth closed his eyes to embrace his fate, but strong arms quickly reached down and pulled him up. He fluttered his eyelids a few times to get the water out of his eyes, hacking up water fiercely and gazing at his savior. Chomper didn't know who he was. However, both he and his brother recognized him alright.

"Now we've got you!" Ozzie declared, still clutching him in the air. The eggeater was going to make him pay for all the grief of their last visit to the Great Valley, and the painless demise of drowning didn't suit his fancy.

Chomper blinked.

"I'm sorry; who are you guys?" he asked, confused and highly uncomfortable in the arms of someone he didn't know.

"He doesn't remember us, Oz! The nerve!" Strut exclaimed, stomping his foot. It wasn't that he was truly upset about it. He just felt that his brother would want him to be.

"He can understand us," Ozzie mused to himself, eyeing the boy with more thought. "No doubt from being with those weed whackers."

"I'm really sorry about this," Chomper began again, interrupted Ozzie's thoughts. "Are we- friends- or something? I hit my head a little while ago, and now I can't remember anything. I don't know what I'm doing here or- even who I am. Will you two please help me? You seem to know me okay."

Ozzie's lips curled into a wide smile as his eyes narrowed into a fiery dance. Chomper couldn't tell if his look was happiness or bad happiness. Then he quickly dismissed the thought. What in the world was bad happiness!

"You hit your head? Are you still in any pain, son?" he asked fervently, clutching Chomper dearly and looking him over. "I was so worried when you went off exploring without us."

"What are you doing, Oz?" Strut quickly asked, but Ozzie quickly elbowed him in the gut, causing him to stumble backwards and almost crush a buzzer on the ground. It flew up in frenzy, assaulting him relentlessly as Strut began running around and swatting without focus. His yelps had no effect on the conversation, however.

"It doesn't hurt much, but, uh- son? You guys aren't-" Chomper began, his head drowning even worse than he'd been earlier.

"You poor thing…" Ozzie lamented, setting him down gently and turning away with the back of his wrist to his forehead. "I'm sorry we have to give the news again, especially after how hard it was to take the first time. Your parents were killed, uh-" Ozzie thought back to something that defined his encounters with the little sharptooth he could use for a name, "Shadow. My brother and I took you in, and we've been living happily together for some time now."

Strut continued running in wide circles around the two, swatting the air with needless emphasis and shouting at the thing to go away to no avail. One of his swings actually hit the buzzer in midair, but that only served to make it angrier as it flew into him all the more aggressively.

"Now then," Ozzie continued, "you say you've forgotten why we're all here?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just, the memory thing…" he replied, rubbing his head some more.

Ozzie smiled and replied, "I'm just glad you're alright, and I do hope you remember your past soon." He did not.

Strut now had now taken to clutching a fallen stone tooth from the ground and was swinging it vehemently at his assailant. The insect dodged each blow with ease and made mocking faces. As a result, Strut managed to swat him hard. Bye-bye buzzer. He breathed a sigh of relief and set his weapon down, or rather, dropped it on his foot and began hopping around the room single-footedly, clutching his injury in pain, and crying, "Ow, ow, ow!"

Lovingly, Ozzie bent down, scooped up the little sharptooth, and hugged him snuggly. Chomper in turn realized rather quickly that his "dad" had no concept of gentleness, and he squirmed with discomfort. He wondered if he always wriggled when his father hugged him. If so, the child was also curious why he'd never taken the time to explain this malpractice to him…

Then, rather abruptly, Ozzie changed the subject, setting him down in the process. "Now, to remind you about what why we're here, we are eggeaters, after all. Today we're going to be eating food from this place, the Great Valley," Ozzie explained matter-of-factly.

Chomper may not have recalled his past, but his lack of stupidity remained intact. He was no eggeater. Or maybe sharpteeth could eat that way too? He had so many questions, but he felt it would save time to save them and simply wait for his memories to return. He hoped that would be soon.

In his hops of agony, Strut eventually stepped right on a mildly-sharp stone, lost his balance with a yelp of pain, and landed on his back with a thud. "Ugh…" he moaned as his eyes rolled around.

"Are you okay?" Chomper asked worriedly, looking in his direction.

Strut faced him dizzily and gave him a thumb up sign before a protruding rock fell from the ceiling onto his head, knocking him out.

"Don't worry about him. He needs the nap," Ozzie told Chomper, pulling his attention away with a hand on the boy's shoulder.

This was going to be a lot to adjust to until he remembers when everything that happened after his first adjustment, so he just took a deep breath and decided to do his best with his lifestyle. His thoughts nagged him about so many things, but his brain was interrupted by his stomach. Looking down at it first, he returned his gaze to Ozzie.

"So, dad, when are we going to get started? I'm really hungry," he told him, sounded both that and a little tired.

"When night is upon us," he answered, removing his hand from Chomper's shoulder and straightening up. "_You_ must act with stealth…"

* * *

><p>The bright circle had long since waved farewell to the Great Valley as the night one took its shift of watching over the dinosaurs below. There was a warm breeze that blew on occasion but was so weak that it was barely noticed. No insects were yet chirping in the lack of light, but they were preparing one of their choruses for the very near future. There were few clouds in the sky but enough to block out most of the moon, limiting visibility even further.<p>

The night really was beautiful, so the children were enjoying every last moment before having to turn in. The stars in the sky were like diamonds, glittering in all their splendor, and the odor of well-watered grass was a near ecstasy to their nostrils, smelling lush and sweet with every breath they took. As they spoke, the only other sound was the continuous _shhhhh_ of the rushing water just behind them. The temperature was just above lukewarm, and combined with the tiny splatters hitting them from the waterfall and the cool slivers of grass beneath them, they couldn't help but shiver from the immense coziness as they took pleasure in each other's company.

After having played a few games, the children had been sitting near the Thundering Falls waiting for the inevitable summoning of their parents. The grownups had seen them earlier resting peacefully so had silently allowed a longer curfew, but Cera's father finally said enough and began to approach, the others following.

"I am feeling so much better now, guys. Thanks for looking after me," Star told the others gratefully with a big grin. She shifted from her sitting position to lying on her side with her legs and tail stretched out. After just a moment, though, she set her chin to rest on her leg and looked up at Littlefoot with a smile.

"I was very happy to," Littlefoot replied, lying down as well but on his belly. She had verbally addressed them all for courtesy, but the look revealed she was really speaking to him. When Star blushed, he added, "I really care about _all_ my friends."

Star looked down but continued to smile and audibly exhaled through her nose and shut her eyes simultaneously. Asp and Syn were sitting side by side, and she had her head resting on his shoulder while his arm was around her; they were quite warm. Talking quietly about what different combinations of stars looked like together, they weren't noticing much about anyone else. Cera continued to sit nearby, feeling a little left out and very bored. She sighed a few times on purpose to get some attention, but the other four had been divided into focus-stealing pairs. Neither longneck nor yellowbelly even remembered there was a threehorn present. She bent over and grabbed some grass to nibble on in silence.

Finally, the grownups were in hearing range, and the monotonous calling of their names began bedtime. Cera was more eager than ever to get to sleep so nearly jumped to her feet when she heard her father. Ducky's mother of course hadn't come. However, Petrie's mother actually swooped down and asked for her son. When Littlefoot just stammered a bit and looked away, she widened her eyes in realization for a moment then lowered her head in sadness.

"That's right. Petrie is still- away…" she said quietly. All of the children could see just how much she missed her little boy, and they shifted uncomfortably from the weight of just how sorry for her they felt. They wanted to comfort, yet lacking the words to do so, they felt even gloomier. She looked into their faces, though, and saw their hearts; that was enough. Smiling, she bid them good night and soared back to her nest where the rest of her children lay waiting for her love and warmth. The kids watched her go with sympathy until she was out of sight.

At the soft and inviting voice of Littlefoot's grandfather off in the distance, the four remaining rose to get some sleep. Placing a good-night kiss on Littlefoot's cheek as Star walked by (to which he merely smiled in response), she returned to her usual spot and lay down to rest. Asp watched all this unfold with a mild frown, as if he was rejecting something in his mind and trying to open his thinking for something else, and held the thumb side of a fist to his chin.

"Littlefoot, could I talk with you about something?" the yellowbelly asked with a mysterious air of defeat. Syn looked up at him curiously but remained silent.

"Uh, well, it's kind of late, but sure," he said tiredly but with as much respect as he could muster. He looked up at Asp with barely-open eyes and yawned. It was contagious, resulting in a simultaneous repeat from both yellowbellies.

"Oh, never mind," Asp quickly said. "You're right; it's time to sleep. Okay, well, I'll chat with you tomorrow then. I want your full attention for this; no grogginess allowed."

Chuckling, he replied, "Alright."

Being as Star had gone on ahead, the three of them returned to Littlefoot's nesting area. Syn was so sleepy that she was leaning on Asp for support, her head on his shoulder like before, and keeping her heavy eyes shut, knowing full well Asp would guide her back safely. She yawned four times before they arrived. The longneck parted ways with them, and they went to their usual spot. Whispering in her ear to announce their arrival so she could lie down for the night, Asp noticed something peculiar. Syn's breathing was completely involuntary; she'd been so tired that she'd actually fallen asleep as they were walking back. With a barely-audible chuckle, he set her down as gently as if she'd break from a leaf falling onto her, and then he curled up beside her.

Littlefoot yawned once more, so widely that his jaws ached, turned three times, then rested his tired body onto the soft ground and closed his eyes.

A deep sleep overtook the Great Valley. The night circle, though still only partially visible tonight, carried out its shift as usual with a dim glow pouring across the land below. As it did so, a lone figure strode about the shadows, constantly looking around and sniffing the air as he moved from tree to tree. He eventually walked by a child, a sleeping domehead with her thumb in her mouth and tiptoed by as quietly as he could, never taking his eyes off of her. All his focus on doing nothing to wake her, he did the exact opposite; he stepped on a twig with a loud crunch and a cringe.

The domehead suddenly cried, "Sharptooth!" and Chomper dashed behind a tree in terror.

"Oh no, I've been caught!" he thought to himself in a panic. But as he peered out from behind the wooden plant, she was still lying down on her side, eyes shut.

"Earthshake!" she suddenly yelped, but again, she did not stir.

Chomper breathed a sigh of relief. "She's only talking in her sleep."

Then he turned around and walked right into a young swimmer who had been approaching him. There was barely any physical recoil, but he still fell back on his rear from surprise and tensed for the call he knew would come. However, she said nothing. Her eyes were open, but it was like she didn't see anything as she kept moving.

"She must be walking in her sleep," he mused. "Sheesh, what a crazy place this is."

He walked past her then glanced back at her one last time only to gasp. She was walking into a pool of sinking sand! Her left foot had just sunk into the murk before she was yanked upwards by the strong arms of a sharptooth. Facing her in a direction that seemed to bear no treacherous landscape, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued his hunt for an egg-filled nest.

He sniffed the air a few times, paused, and then changed his course, walking for another few seconds. Hearing movement somewhere behind him, he was about to duck for cover when he realized that it was that blasted swimmer again. When he saw where she was walking to this time, he sighed heavily. He ran over on his tiptoes and got between her and the thorn bush. However, this time, she bumped into him with just enough force that he stumbled back into it and got cut up by the briars. He clasped his mouth tightly with both hands to keep his yelp from being audible and slowly and painfully began removing the thorns from his rear.

"If she is in danger one more time, there's no way I'm gonna- ugh!" he finished tiredly, already spying her next unsafe destination.

She was heading into the cave where Ozzie and Strut were waiting. It was a big place, and she could easily get lost. As she entered, Chomper ran to get her. He looked around and saw her right away, but it was what was behind her that made him worry.

"Ahem," Ozzie began with as must patience as he could muster, watching the obvious sleepwalker head into a wall and keep moving against it with indifference. "We eat eggs, not live ones. Did you forget what an egg is too?"

Chomper glanced down. "Sorry, dad. I'm trying, it's just that that swimmer is really distracting me."

"I see. Well then, just eat her," Ozzie replied nonchalantly with a shrug.

"Is- is that okay…?" he asked incredulously. His memory may be gone, but his personality of non-aggression to leaf eaters was certainly still prevalent.

"You're a sharptooth!" Ozzie exclaimed but quietly enough so as not to wake the swimmer who was now being poked curiously by Strut behind him. Chomper was glad to see him up and okay, but he had an ugly bump on his head from the rock. "Of course it's okay. You have to survive, don't you?" he pressed further.

Chomper suddenly felt very anxious. Eating her did make sense. He was a meat eater, after all, and she was meat. But something about this place, something familiar, made him uneasy about devouring any of its residents. He felt so nervous as he reached for the swimmer that he was overcome with what often overtakes children when they feel too nervous. He started hiccupping- audibly. Covering his mouth did almost no good to muffle the spasms.

"Oh, for goodness' sake," Ozzie remarked with contempt, his impatience wearing away his acting. "You'll just have to eat her later. You might choke if you try now. Now get back to finding us some eggs."

"_Hic_ but dad, won't they _hic burp_ they hear me?" With every contraction, his tiny chest jerked like a swarm of angry buzzers was inside trying to burst out.

"Yeah, Oz. Shouldn't he wait here until the noise stops?" Strut wanted to know, looking up as he continued to amuse himself through pokes with the little swimmer walking straight against a wall with no stop in sight.

"No. I'm far too famished to wait any longer. Only breathe when you-" Ozzie paused as a very loud hiccup so rudely interrupted him, "absolutely have to. They sleep so soundly here that they shouldn't even notice a tiny hiccup every now and then," he informed him, shifting his whole body and sighing at this incredible waste of time.

"O- _hicca_ kay." He felt more anxious than ever and a little silly too. His mission was to enter a valley in the dead of night as leaf eaters slept all around him while trying to find eggs for his family to eat while keeping out of sight using the trees and bushes while hiccupping worse than he ever had in his life. It was such a mouthful that he nearly ran out of breath just _thinking_ of the situation. Taking a deep breath, he was able to relax a little (and hiccup very loudly), so he reached deeply, grasped all of his courage, and stepped out once again.

He was going to be a big, tough sharptooth. He was going to complete his task and make his parents proud. No one was going to catch him, and he would end up with some delicious food. And speaking of food…

"Oops!" Chomper thought to himself, quickly appearing right back into the cave. Picking up the swimmer gently, he took her along with him. Ozzie and Strut assumed she was to snack on after his hiccups went away, but they were quite mistaken. He set her in the middle of a berry bush, a place where she couldn't escape unintentionally and would be safe, and continued his search for a nest full of juicy eggs

He slipped from tree to tree, only revealing himself in the open when he transitioned, though any time a hiccup rang from his mouth in between any, be it a sharp squeak or muffled _huck_, he dashed back to the last one to make sure no one would see the source.

He found plenty of dinosaurs with offspring- that had already hatched. Not a single egg had come into sight yet. He thought that with a place this big, there would be eggs everywhere, but he just figured it was an off time for laying. Eventually hearing the flow of pouring water, he noticed just how thirsty he was. He slipped over to the pool beneath a huge waterfall and got on his belly to lap up some of the cool, clear liquid to quench his dry throat. He hoped it would help with his hiccups too, but he only got half of his wish. As he stood back up, "_HEEK_!" echoed loudly through the entire valley. He covered his mouth so fast that a mild slapping noise could be heard, and he darted his eyes from side to side and listened carefully to notice if anyone was stirring as a result. Nope.

He got back to looking, and the soft ground, warm air, and barely-cloudy sky made his excursion somewhat of a pleasure stroll as well, helping to calm his nerves a little. As his mind started to relax a bit, a thought occurred to him. He wondered why he, a young child, was out doing this dangerous work when he had two capable fathers that could do far better. In the end, he dismissed it quickly as a coming-of-age task. He understood full well that children need to practice the hunt young if they are to ever be good at it. Then a faint image of a longneck flashed in his mind, but the thought vanished at once as a headache occurred. His memories decided it would be safest to take things more slowly.

Frustration was setting in that still not a SINGLE egg had come into view, so he decided to stop looking along a central path through the valley and instead try along the walls. Hiccups having sped up for a few seconds, he had to cover his mouth to muffle the high pitched _heeks_ that tried their hardest escape as he pressed on. It didn't work well, so he just held his breath. He did not let up for fear that the rapid noises would wake someone. His face began to turn blue in the moonlight as he got closer to a stone wall. He was almost out of air as he was walking by some children and two older adults. He finally got to the edge and started gasping for breath. He hiccupped not once, not twice, but three times and very loudly throughout before he was able to hold his breath again. He started to creep away against the rocky perimeter but nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice.

"CUTE!" came a cry as Chomper was tackled to the ground. He struggled to get away, but his aggressor, someone not much older than him, a girl, no less, was too powerful. It quickly occurred to him, however, that she wasn't really attacking him. A reddish longneck looked down at his face and grinned from ear to ear. "Aw, you are just sooo adorable! I could eat you right up!"

After some more squirming from the sharptooth (though less direly now) and the request, "Will you please get off?" Star finally removed herself from atop his body with a look of awe and pleasure. He quickly got to his feet and stared at her. Was she going to call for help? Backed against a wall in a valley full of grownups and even children that can overpower him, he was done for if she drew attention to his presence. Still, her initial reaction to seeing him made a cry of terror from her seem less likely. She actually seemed rather happy to meet him, and this theory was only further cemented by her following statement.

"Wow, so you can speak like I can, huh? Coolness! Anyway, I'm Stardipper, but my friends call me Star. And you are?" she pressed, stepping closer to him. The invasion of his personal space brought about a small degree of discomfort, but he spoke anyway. At least, he tried to.

"_Hic_!" That one wasn't too loud, but he still glanced around to be safe.

"Interesting name," Star marveled. "Nice to meetcha, Hic. Is that short for something?"

"_Hiccup_!" He covered his mouth at once. Now _that_ one was loud. Star wondered at first why he jerked so when he answered, but she quickly came to the conclusion that he loved his name so much that he couldn't contain his excitement when he revealed it.

"Neat! So I take it that your friends just call you Hic for short then?"

"_Hicca_!" His reddened face was visible in the moonlight. He shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

"Oh, your friends call you Hicca, huh? So who calls you Hic then? Your family, I bet. Can I call you Hicca too? It would be totally awesome to be friends with a cute lil ol' sharptooth like you."

"My name isn't Hic or anything like that. It's _hic_!"

Star laughed. "You're funny. Sarcasm is definitely an awesome kind of humor. So, what brings you to the Great Valley? Sharpteeth rarely come here, and sadly for you, they are never welcome. Well, I mean, I welcome you, but everyone else probably wouldn't," she explained, her tone losing some of its cheer. Then she whispered very quietly, as if it were some big secret, "Don't take it personally, though. I think they just prefer not to get eaten and stuff."

Now it was Chomper's turn to suppress a giggle. Stardipper was pretty funny. Although, he had this inkling feeling that she was not attempting to be- whatsoever. He had given up on trying to tell her his name so took on the new task of explaining what he was doing there. At first, he'd found the notion of revealing his task to be utterly stupid and dangerous, but with his utmost feeling of anxiety and loneliness, he really needed to talk to someone. It did seem like they'd become friends despite having just met, and he didn't sense any threat from her whatsoever. In fact, to his amusement, he envisioned himself nibbling on her tail only for her to remark how cute he looked doing it. He told her that he's here for eggs, though hiccupping every few words in the process.

"Egg stealing, huh?" Star repeated thoughtfully. "That's not very nice, you know. And thanks for continuously reminding me what your name is. I wouldn't want to forget it."

Chomper sighed, not annoyingly, but rather, because he saw her point. He decided to explain as best he could that his dads need the food to survive, so nice or not, he had to do it.

"My family _hic_ is hungry and needs to eat. It's not nice either to let them starve _huck_!"

Star thought for a moment. "Yes, that's true. I think I've heard of egg-eating dinosaurs. They can eat green food too. So listen up, you little cutie. If you want to be nice to them AND to the little, unborn babies of the Great Valley, I think you should gather some leaves for your folks. I can show you where some really nice ones are."

"That's a great _hic_!"

"Actually, I thought it was more like a great _idea_, but to each his own. Anyway, let's get a move on! They aren't far from here." She turned and began heading towards some trees but then came to a sudden halt, causing Chomper to bump into her from behind. Turning her neck back to him, she added, "Oh, and by the way, folks are trying to sleep around here, so it might be best to stop repeating your name every few seconds. I dunno, just a thought."

Chomper frowned and got excited. "I _hic!_ I can't _hic_! I can't help _hiccup_!" He stomped his foot in frustration at his inability to speak.

Star gave a light, smiling sigh and returned to approaching the trees, saying, "Well,

I guess it's alright if you don't get _too_ loud. Come on then." She gave him a kind glance and nudged her head onward before taking off again.

Star led him to a tall tree with long branches drooping down, making the leaves easily reachable to someone like the young longneck, but they were still too far up for Chomper. He jumped repeatedly, grasping nothing but air, and Star felt sorry for him.

Lowering her face so it was right beside his, they both looked up at the limbs as she asked, "You really wanna do your part, huh?"

"_Huck_!"

"I'll take that as a yes. Here. Climb up on my back, and you'll be able to reach them," Star offered., hunching down a bit.

Chomper happily obeyed, gently resting his claws on Star's back and hoisting himself up. From atop her back with plenty of balance, he raised his arms and started plucking the green food off with haste. His arms were loaded in under a minute.

"Okay, coming down," he informed her.

He was paying so much attention to getting off carefully and not dropping anything that when he hiccupped hard, startling him, he lost his balance and fell on his rear as a cascade of leaves showered down on him. Neither of them spoke for about three seconds as they looked into each other's eyes. Then a stream of laughter poured from their mouths for some time, though they muffled it somewhat so as not to wake anyone.

She began sweeping all of the leaves into a pile with her tail, but she soon noticed that Chomper was staring ahead as if in a trance.

"You okay, Hicca?" she asked, gently nudging his shoulder with her head.

"Huh?" he asked, shaking his head quickly then turning to her. "Oh, so- _heek_- rry. This place just seems so familiar… _Hic_!"

"Maybe you've been here before then," she tried.

"You- you really think so?" he asked slowly, never having considered that these feelings of familiarity might literally mean he'd set foot here before.

"Well, tee hee, it's kinda hard for a place to seem familiar that you've never seen before," she teased, returning to piling the leaves together.

"That's true…" Chomper trailed off thoughtfully as he continued to stand there and admire the Great Valley. (Rather, he took in as much scenery as one could in the dead of night.)

"Aw, you stopped saying your name every few seconds. And I was just gettin' used to it too. Oh well. At least I'm sure I'll never forget it," she concluded, finally stopping her work as all the leaves were now in a nice pile.

The sharptooth paused and looked down at himself. Seconds passed. A grin appeared. "Hey, you're right!" he replied cheerfully.

"So, I guess this is good-bye then, Hicca. You should bring that food back to your family before they get too hungry." As he began scooping up the food, she grabbed bits with her mouth and set them in his arms. When he finally had his load fully, well, loaded, she looked at the little sharptooth a little sadly. "Will I- ever see ya again?" As he opened his mouth to speak, she added, "Pwease? You're just too cute!"

Chomper grinned, giggled, and looked down all at once. "Maybe." Then he looked back up into her kind face. "I'm just not sure how much longer my parents want to stay in the area. By the way, I want you to know my real name, friend."

"Ooh, you called me your friend!" Star exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down. Then she suddenly froze. "Wait. You lied about your real name? Ouch…"

"No, I didn't lie!" Chomper replied at once. "I had the hiccups!"

"Oh," Star replied with a playful snicker. "Well why didn't ya just tell me? I can't know what's goin' on if ya don't speak up."

Chomper lowered his head, closed his eyes, and placed his outstretched claw on his forehead though he bore a grin.

"Anyway, Star, my name is Shadow, and I think you're really nice, so I hope to see you again too." There was a silence as Star expected him to say more while he had nothing more to say. Finally, he simply ended with, "Well, bye."

"Bye-bye, Shadow!" she called after him as he went ahead with his leaves. She was at first a little miffed that he didn't wave back, but recalling the contents in his arms soon had her grinning as she walked back to her nesting area, yawning deeply. It was very late; she'd never been up this long before, and it showed. She curled up against the wall, and as she closed her eyes, she whispered, "I hope to see that wonderful little guy again."

* * *

><p>"I had better see that good-for-nothing brat again!" Ozzie was fuming. "Am I going to die of starvation? Argh! I knew that brat would be the death of me! Let's just get out of here."<p>

Strut wondered why Ozzie couldn't forget the revenge for now and just get some food on his own, but there wasn't that much night left, so he was probably just being careful. However, the lack of revenge in their, well, revenge, was what he couldn't figure out. Was tricking him into getting them food really so diabolical? Perhaps yelling "Sharptooth!" so the grownups would awaken, find him, and stomp on him would serve as an act of vengeance, but his hatred of face smacks kept his mouth sealed. He mentally sighed. Ozzie often let his stomach do the thinking for him; hunger and logic can't fit into his head at once very easily. He assumed, though, that Ozzie would find eviler scheme eventually.

As Ozzie got up to leave into the Mysterious Beyond, Strut at his heels, they heard footsteps. Not knowing who it was yet, they backed against a wall around a corner and peeked around. It was Chomper, and his hands were full. Ozzie's mouth watered as he came out of hiding.

"Well done, you dear little-" but he stopped (along with his gentle tone) when he saw what was really in his hands.

Strut rushed by, eyes wide and mouth watering, grabbed a big handful of green food, and stuffed it into his mouth, and then began munching away happily.

"You did great, kid!" he complimented, patting Chomper on the head with his free hand.

Chomper beamed, and his head filled with pride and joy- before getting the exact opposite reaction next.

"You did terrible!" Ozzie screeched, hands clenched tightly. "Don't you know the difference between eggs and plants!" He was so hungry that his stomach hurt, and he was very moody.

"Well, I-" he stammered with his eyes to the ground, feelings hurt for having tried so hard to please only to fail miserably.

"Speak!" Ozzie ordered.

"I'm sorry, dad. It's just- stealing eggs- isn't- very- nnnice?" he finished in a high tone of voice with a nervous grin.

Ozzie turned very red all over and began to tremble.

"You alright, Oz?" Strut asked with his mouth full, still crunching away on the leafy greens.

"Alright…?" he asked slowly. "Alright…?" he asked even slower than before but with a rising intensity. "I'M-" but the egg-eating dinosaur managed to quickly regain his composure. In a sweet, gentle voice, he asked, "Shadow?"

"Y-yes, dad?" he asked nervously, preparing to flinch.

Ozzie put a hand on his shoulder and said softly, "I think it's time you knew who killed your parents." He was so furious that his hunger ran and hid, and the only way to sate his new rage was to create the ultimate revenge, a two for one…

"Oh, uh, o-kay…" he replied uncomfortably. Not only was it a painful subject to hear about one's parents dying, this change of topic made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever. To him, it was like discussing how beautiful the day was only to suddenly exclaim, "You need to bathe more!" Chomper's struggled to guess his father's purpose for talking about this out of the blue in vain.

"Before I tell you, though, I want you to know just how much they loved you. They would have done anything for you, Shadow. Therefore, I think that you should be willing to do anything for them." His tone was still soft but had suddenly gotten very dark as well, and it was clear what point he was trying to make.

"I- I guess so. So, what is it you want me to do for them?" he asked slowly.

"Avenge their death, son. Do you really want their killer roaming around? He could destroy more families and create more orphans like you." Ozzie stepped closer to Chomper with intensity.

"But I'm not an orphan," Chomper replied, stepping back slightly without fully understanding why. "I have you two."

Ozzie sighed. "What I'm saying is, if he's left alone, he'll just keep right on taking the lives of good sharpteeth. He lures them near mountains and has boulders pushed on their heads! Do you want that? Well do you?"

"Well, no, I don't- I don't want that at all."

"Good," he replied, his eyes narrowing with satisfaction. "Now, the killer just so happens to live right here in the Great Valley. If you do it while it's still dark, you can escape before any of the adults wake up and catch you."

"Do what?" Chomper asked, thoroughly confused. Apparently, Ozzie wasn't as interested in getting food anymore which he still couldn't understand.

"Are you even listening!" Ozzie nearly roared, forgetting to be gentle. "I'm talking about killing the killer! This is what your parents would want with all their heart. If you're really a good son, you'll take revenge."

"I am a good son! Really!" he insisted.

"Excellent. When you find him, take your claws like this," he instructed, grabbing Chomper's hand, causing the leaves to spill to the floor, placing the sharp edges of them just a smidgen away from Strut's throat, "and then do this." He quickly slashed sideways, and if they had actually been touching Strut's throat, the ground would have been littered with crimson. "He'll die quickly with no opportunity to shout. I'll describe him so that you'll know exactly when you've found him. First of all, his name is Littlefoot…"

Strut grew especially silent and stared hard at Ozzie. He was right about his brother after all, but the extent of his accuracy made him shudder. Based off of history, however, his stomach churned in an increasing degree of fire.

**Chapter End**

"I thought it would be good to say hi to all you nice readers, so hi there. It's Syn again, and since I like to share, I thought it would a good idea to offer a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. You don't have to stay or anything, so feel free to go; I would never want any of you feeling forced to hear my previews. For those that do want one, I'll say this: The trouble finds trouble. Dark, moist trouble, to be exact. Well, I don't want to take up too much of your valuable time, so bye for now."


	16. The Eggcellent Plan

**Chapter XV: The Eggcellent Plan**

Insects were chirping in rhythm. Besides the sound of flowing water, all to be heard was the snoring of adults and the occasional child. Littlefoot's body was systematically rising and falling with each involuntary breath. A blade of grass began to tickle his side, and he subconsciously lifted a back foot to scratch the area. When finished, he turned onto his back, his legs hanging limply in the air.

The sudden sound of footsteps disrupted his sleep cycle, and with a sudden thrust of his eyelids, he saw a sharptooth closing his teeth around his throat before his world dissolved into darkness.

"AH!" Littlefoot exclaimed with a start, quickly raising his neck and opening his eyes. His breathing was fast as he gazed around the Great Valley. When he saw nothing out of the ordinary, he let loose a sigh of relief and lowered his head. "Me and my sleep stories… That one had to be the realest one ever," he said aloud.

A rustling nearby made him jerk his head to the side, but it was only Asp. Coming closer. Quickly. With an angry expression. While clenching his fists.

"Syn is trying to sleep!" he hissed. His forefinger shot to his lips. "SHHH!"

"Huh?" came a slow, groggy whisper from behind them, and its owner sat up while rubbing her eyes. Littlefoot looked behind Asp as the yellowbelly emitted a low sound from his closed mouth with his face unmoving.

"Ha ha, it looks like _you're_ the one who woke up Syn," Littlefoot teased with a chuckle. Asp had such a poor sense of direction that he could not find a reason to laugh as well. He turned to her apologetically.

"Sorry about that, Syn. Let's go back to sleep," he said quietly, returning to their nesting area.

It was at this moment, however, that Asp fought for control over his movement. He found himself telling his legs to press onward, but another force beyond his control was fighting his commands. While the yellowbelly could not see this hindering force, he knew it well. With a strong burst of energy, he tried marching back more quickly, but the more he tried to ignore the antagonist, the easier it was for it to fight more aggressively. His legs began to feel heavier. Asp considered himself weak at the very thought of giving in, but instead, he justified his surrender by acknowledging the fact that true strength also comes from knowing what one cannot overcome at times. Curiosity can be such a troublesome thing…

Asp stopped and turned back.

"By the way-" he began, biting his lip, feeling somewhat foolish for asking something not only completely irrelevant at such an early hour but also none of his business. "What uh, what exactly did you dream about?"

To his relief, Littlefoot smiled lightly, easing his awkwardness. "A sharptooth somehow got into the valley and attacked me. It was just so real…" he trailed off, recalling it. "I mean, I'm sure I could even feel the moisture from his mouth."

Asp was about to reply before he noticed a certain odor. He shifted a bit while tightening his closed mouth. "Oh, I think I might know why that feeling was so realistic…" He couldn't be blunt. It would have been too embarrassing to just tell him. It must have been a frightening dream indeed…

Littlefoot was confused, but as he shifted in his lying position, he became quite aware of what the yellowbelly was talking about.

Syn got up and came over beside Asp, peering into the dimness, also catching the scent. The weight of the humiliation was crushing both Littlefoot and Asp immensely, tying their tongues and pointing their eyes downward, but she saved them.

"Oh, you wet the nest, huh?" Syn asked so casually that the discomfort scampered away with its tail between its legs. "Don't worry about it. Scary dreams can do that to you. Asp and I'll go grab some leaves to cover the mess up so you can go back to sleep."

"At this hour…?" Asp began in a low voice. Syn poked his forehead. "We'll get right on it! Be right back, Littlefoot." With that, the two yellowbellies hurried off.

Littlefoot's redness had nearly subsided completely, and he began to relax. Once again, he couldn't help but love his new friends immensely. He lay there in silence until he realized that he probably shouldn't continue lying in his own urine. He slowly got to his feet and considered taking a bath as soon as possible. Perhaps if his thoughts weren't elsewhere, he might have heard the gentle rustling behind him. From the far end of a nearby bush, there arose a toothy grin. A set of claws were opened, and its owner moved stealthily toward the young longneck who was now alone. It would be trickier, what with him awake, but he was willing to give this his all, regardless.

Chomper leapt onto Littlefoot's back and was about to slash away when he quickly reared up, and the sharptooth fell onto his back. Littlefoot quickly turned around and tackled his attacker, pinning him down with his weight. The sharptooth struggled, but he could not get free as Littlefoot's front legs pushed against his arms. As the sky puffies moved to allow more of the partial night circle to shine upon them, and the excitement died down to allow better vision of the situation, Littlefoot gaped in shock. He got off immediately and continued to stare. Chomper got to his feet and backed away, claws still out as he circled around the longneck.

Littlefoot questioned this reality. Was he still dreaming? That would certainly make a lot more sense than accepting his sensory perception as truth. He took a moment to analyze this. Chomper had never attacked him before. Chomper had no vendetta against him. Chomper was his dear friend. Lastly, Chomper lives far, far away on an island. Combining all of these facts, he came to the rational conclusion that this assault was not real.

To the sharptooth's surprise, his prey yawned and lay back down to sleep. Chomper clenched his teeth in anger. How rude! Treating him as so little a threat that he actually closed his eyes and lowered his defenses with not so much as a yawn!

"Don't ignore me!" he growled, pouncing on him again, and one of his claws grazed the side of his face. It didn't break the skin or even leave a red mark, but boy, did it hurt.

Littlefoot jumped up with a start. He examined the new evidence and formed an equation: Events plus pain equals reality. His friend was actually here and trying to kill him!

Littlefoot shook his body, once more sending Chomper staggering off.

"Chomper…?" he began in near disbelief. "What- what are you doing here? Why are you attacking me?" His voice was quivering in fear and grief. He got an answer, but it made no sense to him.

"I'm a good son!" he exclaimed, lunging for Littlefoot's neck. The longneck now wondered if perhaps the meat eater had lost his mind. That would certainly explain everything. Technically, he was sort of correct.

Littlefoot dodged the blow, and Chomper crashed into a tree. Recovering quickly, however, he turned back to try delivering another strike. It was incredible how no one was awoken by the scuffle. Chomper was further awed by the fact that Littlefoot didn't call for help, but he dismissed it as pride, wanting to defeat him without help.

Hoping to appeal to whatever reason was left in his buddy's mind, Littlefoot repeated, "Why would you try to eat me?"

"I'm not trying to eat you!" he retorted, barely muffling his voice and slashing his claws wildly as Littlefoot continued to move back and shift his body around to avoid the blows. "I'm trying to kill you!"

"But Chomper, we're friends!"

"Quiet! You have me confused with someone else. I've never seen you in my life, and the name's Shadow."

Littlefoot's brain only considered this for a moment, biased to the opinion that Chomper wouldn't want to bring him harm. Sadly, his eyes took precedence. Looking at him again in the dim light, there was no mistaking the identity of the sharptooth who stood before him.

"You are Chomper," he said at last. "There's no denying it."

"Shut up!" he growled. "That's a stupid name! That's like calling a clubtail Smacker! Now just die already!"

As Chomper bent his legs to leap at Littlefoot once more, a loud _clonk_ sound was heard, and Chomper fell to the ground, unconscious. Littlefoot looked up at once to see Asp holding a broken branch in his hands that he soon threw aside.

"We'd better wake the grownups so they can get rid of this thing," he suggested as he began scooping up the pile of leaves he'd dropped before grabbing his weapon.

Now, Asp could not see the future. However, like all dinosaurs with any degree of logic, he could make educated guesses as to what may come to pass. After saving his friend's life, a list of possibilities had begun flashing in his mind. Things like:

"Thank you for saving me. I'll go and get my grandparents!"

Or:

"That was close! If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead. I'll go and get my grandparents!"

Or:

"Great job with that sharptooth! I'll go and get my grandparents!"

Or:

"Asp, you're just so handsome!" (The yellowbelly quickly shook his head to dismiss this one, though. He found it the least likely thus far.)

And while he understood well enough that many reactions might occur that he didn't think of, Littlefoot's response was one of the last things he would have ever considered hearing given the circumstances.

"I can't believe you hurt him!" the longneck exclaimed, rushing to Chomper's side. The look of triumph quickly faded from Asp's face.

"Uh, I think you're still groggy, Littlefoot," Syn commented. "That thing just tried to kill you. Asp saved your life. It was either have him hurt or have you dead."

"That 'thing' is my friend!" Littlefoot declared, still not taking his eyes off of him.

There was an awkward pause, but Asp recovered quickly.

"Oh yeah, friends try killing each other all the time. That's just what caring is all about. You can always tell just how true friends are by hard they try to kill you. I'm afraid I can't be your friend because I never tried to take your life," the male yellowbelly remarked with reproach.

"Are you done?" Littlefoot snapped. "He wasn't himself. He didn't remember me and thought his name was Shadow or something."

"What's his real name?" Syn asked curiously.

"Chomper."

"What a silly name," Asp commented. "That's like calling a threehorn Charger."

Suddenly, the conversation was cut short as everyone looked in the direction of a noise. Littlefoot didn't even have to move.

"Ugn…" Chomper moaned as he shook his head and placed a hand on it. As he got to his knees then begin hoisting himself up, the trio backed up slightly.

"Little-foot?" he asked slowly when he saw the longneck nearby.

"You- you remember me now? Are you sure?" he questioned cautiously.

"How could I ever forget my best buddy? I missed you and the others a lot. So much that my parents agreed to take me back here for a little visit after we found a land path a little below the water to walk on. They were going to wait outside as I came in at night and said hello to all you guys. I wonder what happened to them… I mean, I don't even remember getting here."

"Does the last thing you recall have anything to do with hitting your head?" Asp wanted to know.

"Come to think of it-" Chomper began thoughtfully, looking up. Then he shook his head, turning his gaze to the yellowbelly. "I don't remember. Maybe, I guess."

"I think you did hit your head. A large blow can really mess with a guy's mind. That would also explain how hitting you again brought you back," Asp said thoughtfully, a hand on his chin.

Suddenly, Chomper's eyes widened in fear.

"My parents must be worried sick!" he said suddenly. "I need to find them fast."

"Now?" Asp asked in dread. It was extremely early and he'd just spent a while gathering leaves to cover Littlefoot's nest with; he was exhausted.

"Yes, now," the sharptooth told him. "I'm leaving the valley. They might not be far off." Then he paused, sniffing the air. "Ugh, just what _is_ that smell? It's worse than the stinky place from my island."

"I'll help you find your parents," Littlefoot said quickly. Syn giggled.

This being said, Asp considered his options:

One: He could make the logical decision and go back to sleep. Chomper wasn't doing anything dangerous, simply leaving the valley to find his parents, and surely Chomper wouldn't let them eat him, so Littlefoot's help alone was plenty.

Two: He could offer to come with since Syn would poke him until he changed his mind.

After weighing out his choices, using which one would get him back to sleep the fastest as his priority, he announced, "Count me in too. Helping friends is far more important than getting enough sleep." Syn detected his facetiousness and poked him anyway.

Neither Littlefoot nor Asp needed a word from her mouth about her investment in the quest. It was common knowledge that if Asp was going, so was she. Introductions, for once, completely forgotten, Littlefoot took the lead and began heading for the nearest cave out of the valley. The others followed closely behind save Chomper who walked beside his friend.

As they neared the opening, a voice called out, "Shadow, is that you?"

Asp's brain deduced the situation at once and spoke before anyone could even open their mouths. After he spoke, the understanding was unanimous.

"Say 'Yes' and play along. We'll get to the bottom of this. Everyone else hide."

Littlefoot, Asp, and Syn tiptoed behind some bushes to listen as Chomper continued forward.

"Yes, it's me," he told them confidently.

"Did you kill Littlefoot yet?" Ozzie wanted to know, stepping into the moonlight. Littlefoot knew he'd heard that voice somewhere before, but what with it being muffled, he couldn't quite place it. Seeing the eggeater's face, however, brought the mystery to a swift end. His mouth hung down a bit involuntarily.

"Yes. He's dead."

"That's my boy!" Ozzie called out, patting him on the head.

Chomper glanced down, wishing he had a prompt from one of the others about what to say next, but he was smarter than he thought. "Remind me again why I'm your boy, please."

"My, you're still suffering from that head injury," Ozzie said with forced sympathy. "I'll say again what I told you after saving you from drowning. Littlefoot killed your parents, so I took you in."

"Me too!" Strut exclaimed, stepping out beside his brother, clearly wanting attention.

"Yes, yes, Strut as well," Ozzie mumbled hastily. "So, with Littlefoot gone, we can all rest easy now. Anyway, Strut and I are going to get ourselves some dinner. Wait here for us. We don't want another hiccup attack risking giving us away. The bright circle is nearly up, so we have to move quickly."

"Sure, dad," Chomper replied with a loving smile.

As Ozzie and Strut crept further into the Great Valley, leaving the sharptooth alone, Chomper's friends emerged from their hiding place.

"He must have deceived you when you forgot the truth," Asp concluded.

"Okay, but what do we do now?" Syn asked.

"Wake the grownups to stop them from stealing any eggs?" Littlefoot suggested.

"It takes a while to really wake up in the middle of the night when you're old," Asp explained. "They'd hear us yelling, and before any adults fully grasped the situation, they'd be gone. What we need is a _plan_."

Just then, a terrifying roar echoed from the Mysterious Beyond. Syn clutched Asp tightly, and they all looked off into the distance.

"I may not speak sharptooth, but Chomper, is that one of your parents?" Asp wondered aloud.

"It sure is. And I think I have our plan…" Chomper said with an authentic grin.

* * *

><p>"Ah, this nest will do very nicely. Very nicely indeed," Ozzie declared, looking down.<p>

The two adults were standing near a nest right beside some tall trees. As a result, they were also completely obscured from sight behind the plants. There were a mother and father sleeping soundly curled up against each other, and the female was snoring loudly. Their potential children were in between them and the predators. The theft would be a breeze, and Ozzie's mouth littered the ground with uncontrollable saliva.

"How many are we taking?" Strut whispered, and Ozzie sighed.

"Strut, how many hands do I have?"

"Uh, two?"

"Correct. Now, how many hands do you have?"

"Two too."

"Right again. So, dear brother of mine, you tell me. How many eggs are we going to take?"

"Three."

"How in the world did you get three!"

"You mean I'm wrong?"

"Of course you're wrong! Seriously, how did you end up with that number?"

"Well, you have two hands, so you can carry an egg in each of them."

"Yes, that makes sense so far…"

"And I also have two hands, so I can carry one."

"What the- How can you be so- Why can't you carry two!"

"Oh, that," Strut replied, taking a matter-of-fact tone. "Well, you see, Oz, I've had this really bothersome itch on my left side. I may have gotten a little rash or something from a plant, but I really can't be sure. Anyway, that means I use one hand to carry an egg, and the other is there to scratch my side when it itches. So, how is that wrong?"

"It- it just- IT JUST IS!" Ozzie groaned and slid a hand down his face, deciding it wasn't worth it with time being so of the essence. "Just grab an egg, and let's get out of this place before any adults wake up."

"You got it," Strut agreed cheerfully, reaching down for one of the specimens.

After Ozzie's hands were full, they snuck quickly and quietly back to the cave they'd been in, and Chomper walked outside to greet them.

"Shadow? I thought I had asked you to wait _outside_," Ozzie told him crossly.

"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure I was right so I wouldn't get your hopes up for nothing," he explained apologetically with the cutest look he could muster.

"What are you talking about?" Ozzie asked as he began entering the grotto.

"I saw a great big nest of eggs just outside the valley earlier, and they looked awfully good."

"What!" cried Ozzie in delight. "Take us there immediately!" Turning to his brother, he rejoiced, "Strut, tonight, we feast!"

"Not so fast," Chomper cut in. "I have a condition before I show you the nest."

"A condition," Ozzie repeated blankly, exchanging glances with Strut. "And that _is_?"

"Put the eggs you just stole back where you found them. They'll just ruin your appetite. The ones I found are the plumpest ones I've ever seen- in my whole life," he explained.

"Oh, that's not necessary," Ozzie replied, walking further inside until Chomper stepped in front of him.

"W-what?" he inquired, trying not to sound alarmed.

"We can just save these two for later. Come on, Shadow. Lead the way," Ozzie instructed as the two eggstealers stepped around him and got deeper into the cave.

Chomper ran in front of him again and said, "Hold on! There's- there's a- another reason- why you should put those back..."

"And that is?" Ozzie questioned, eyeing him impatiently.

Chomper's eyes darted about as he searched his imagination for an explanation. He hadn't counted on his first plan falling through so easily. Then he saw Strut scratching a red rash on his side, and he got an idea.

"I saw red marks on several of the adults as I went looking for eggs. Some of them were coughing, and several of their noses were running- badly. I ever saw one get up and throw up. There seems to be a sickness going through the valley; if you eat those, you could get very sick too."

"Ugh, Shadow!" Ozzie reprimanded, stopping. "You should have given us _this_ reason to begin with! But it's too much trouble putting them back. Let's just toss them aside and get out of here."

"No!" Chomper cried, and they both stared at him. "Err, I mean, no, that wouldn't be the best idea. If they hatch too far from their families, they could lost, hurt, and then die."

"So?" Ozzie asked.

"Well, uh… the more- dinosaurs that- survive- in the Great Valley, the more eggs there will be. Yeah!" His imagination was going to be heartily thanked after this.

"He's got a point there, Oz. Let's just take them back," Strut agreed.

"Fine, we'll do it. Wait here. We'll only be gone a little while."

As Ozzie and Strut returned the eggs, Chomper gave a claws up signal to his friends hidden in the cave, and they acknowledged it with big grins. The three of them hurried out of the valley where the final part of their plan was waiting.

"Alright, we put them back," Ozzie announced as he and Strut came back into view. "Now take us to this feast you found."

"You got it!" Chomper replied with enthusiasm and a skip in his step.

He led them through the cave, almost slipping into a body of water he could nearly swear was familiar somehow, and came back out the other end. It wasn't long before the three of them stood in the Mysterious Beyond. The bright circle was rising, and the light made it hard to miss their surroundings. Ozzie looked this way and that impatiently yet saw no nest. All that stretched out before them was the wasteland of hard, dry ground, few trees, and bones.

"Alright, so where are they?" Ozzie questioned, turning sharply to the sharptooth.

"Why," Chomper began, "they're right there." However, he said the word "there" in a way that the eggstealers could not understand. Still, there were some who understood him.

Two huge sharpteeth suddenly emerged from behind a bend and ran for the eggeaters fiercely. They screamed in terror and tried to run away, but their legs were no match for those of Chomper's parents. After all, Ozzie and Strut's entire bodies weren't even half as long as the meat eaters' legs. As the sharpteeth were closing in, Strut tripped on a stone and fell, his face sliding through the dirt.

Quickly jerking up his head, he yelped, "Ozzie! Brother! Help me!"

With a noise of annoyance, he immediately ran back to help his brother up. By the time they both were on their feet again, unfortunately, there was no longer a gap between themselves and Chomper's parents. The huge sharpteeth reached down with their powerful jaws and grabbed the eggeaters violently. With Ozzie in his father and Strut in his mother, the giant jaws snapped shut, and then there was nothing but silence.

**Chapter End**

"Howdy, it's Star, but my awesome voice must have already given that away, right? So, anyway, next time on Familiar Love, things get awesome! Even more than my voice! Not one, but _two_ new couples are sealed in one go! Now how cool is that? Littlefoot needs some advice, but that's just fine. I knew in my heart that he would be mine! (Hey, that rhymed!)"


	17. Love is in the Air Err, Water

**Chapter XVI: Love is in the Air- Err, Water**

"Stop!" Chomper cried before powerful teeth did their job. The two sharpteeth, his parents, simultaneously stopped and looked at him. They couldn't possibly see why, but their son had made a simple request, so they decided to adhere to it until having a reason to do otherwise. It was too difficult for them to form words with their mouths full, especially when the content was relinquishing bloodcurdling screams, so his father settled for a questioning noise.

"Mm?"

"Don't eat them!" he exclaimed. "They saved me, so, I owe those guys. They did some bad things, but they aren't all bad. When I said to get them, I didn't mean to eat them."

"What did you say?" Asp asked the sharptooth. After all, none of the leaf eaters understood a thing he said since he was roaring, communicating in carnivore tongue. Asp, Syn, and Star weren't even aware they had a language until Chomper had explained the plan to his parents earlier.

He promptly repeated what he requested got it.

"You know," Asp began, "them saving you is probably just another lie."

"No," Chomper replied confidently. "It's really foggy, but I have a tiny memory of me falling into water back in the cave. That part is true."

"Who cares if they saved you?" Asp continued.

"Asp!" Syn cried, horrified at how that sounded.

Asp waved his hands back and forth quickly to convey that he didn't mean it like that. He cleared his throat then explained, the screams from the grownups' mouths continuing.

"I meant that it doesn't matter because they had cruel intentions. They clearly did it just to use you. How can you justify that?"

"The ends can justify the means sometimes, Asp," Syn told him softly. "No matter what their plot was, this boy's life is still here because those two stepped in. We have to be grateful for that."

Asp raised his right hand followed by erecting a finger and opened his mouth to speak, yet it was impossible to do so with nothing to say. He moved his hand to his forehead and shook his head.

Sighing, he said, "Why are you so hard to disagree with sometimes?" but he was smiling.

"Guess I'm just smarter than you are," she answered with a poke.

The two adult sharpteeth shifted from both discomfort and boredom. It didn't help that they didn't understand a thing being said. Chomper noticed this and decided to wrap things up with an assuring glance to his folks.

"Besides," Chomper continued, looking at his friends, "that one came back to save his brother. He knew it would be harder to get away if he did, but he did it anyway because he cared." Turning to his parents, he asked in sharptooth dialect, "Mom? Dad? Please, just let them go."

His parents looked at each other for a moment, a bit unsure about this, especially after the incident when Chomper was born, but they trusted their son in many matters, this being one of them. They spit the eggeaters out onto the ground at once but gently.

As to be expected, they were in frenzy. Their hearts were pounded so hard that the beats were visible. Covered in saliva, at first, they didn't comprehend what was happening. The shock was so detrimental that it actually took several seconds for them to realize that they were no longer in a sharptooth mouth. When the blinding glare of the bright circle finally snapped them into the reality of the situation, they looked up at the looming meat eaters and instinctively grasped each other, terrified. At this range, they could never outrun them.

It was at this point that Star appeared. She strutted out of the cave mouth and walked over to everyone with a naturally casual expression. Not seeming surprised at anything, her actions were obvious.

"Can't she come with us the normal way and not hide for no reason whatsoever?" Asp thought irritably. Then he paused. "Wait. Star, do something normally and have an actual reason for something? I must be missing too much sleep…"

"You're free now," Star told the eggeaters. "Don't be afraid; go in peace." While her words were beyond comforting, it was her smile that _really_ put their minds at ease. Ozzie, ever the one for image, stood up and tried to play things cool, totally nonchalant as he wiped away spit.

"Absolutely disgusting," he remarked, grimacing at how gross the situation was. His brother, however, had something else on his mind.

"You- you came back for me, Oz," he marveled, his face aglow.

Ozzie faltered for a moment. He coughed a few times to hide the fact that he was stalling, and finally stopping, he retorted, "Of course I did! Who's going to help carry eggs?"

"Hey!" Star exclaimed, cutting into their conversation.

The eggeater turned to her.

"What?"

Star stuck out her lower lip, looking quite sad, and asked, "Do you really think showing you care makes you weak? It's that way of thinking that really makes you weak."

"Uh, _what?_" Ozzie repeated, thoroughly confused.

There was a loud tremor as Chomper's parents finally plopped on their bottoms. They would have had little interest even if they _could_ understand a word being said. Chomper came over and sat on his mother's lap as he listened to the conversation.

"Hug your brother," Star instructed in a tone that clearly indicated she was trying to make a point. Ozzie did nothing besides looking incredulous. "I just figured it out!" she suddenly exclaimed as if she'd discovered the answer to life itself, and she turned back to her friends excitedly.

"What is it, Star?" Littlefoot asked.

Star stood on three legs, pointing the suspended one at Ozzie. "This guy's stupid!"

Strut muffled a laugh. Ozzie glared at him then back at the female longneck.

"Why you little-" but he paused when he remembered the two giant sharpteeth nearby. "I am certainly not stupid!" he declared, clearly miffed at being insulted by a child so fiercely.

"Okay then," Star replied with a smile that made everyone worry.

She walked over to Littlefoot's side, and to his surprise, she reared up and wrapped herself around his backside in a warm hug and didn't let go for several seconds.

From that same position, she looked back at Ozzie and said, "Do that to your brother, or prove me right-" Ozzie looked awkward, "stupid head."

The eggeater flinched at this humiliating predicament, and to make matters worse, Strut was actually opening his arms.

Chomper decided it would be best to translate what was going on and caught his parents up quickly. A loud roar echoed across the land, and all the egg and leaf eaters jumped.

The little sharptooth laughed and said to Ozzie, "My mommy said to do it."

Strut stepped up closer, and Ozzie clenched his teeth and looked away- then wrapped his arms around his brother. Star looked at him closely with a big grin. He was embarrassed to be seen doing this publicly, and he clearly wasn't used to it, but she could tell he found it satisfying.

Strut, meanwhile, was clearly excited. His brother hadn't hugged him since they were kids.

Ozzie quickly retracted his arms and winced. He turned to Star and her great big smirk and asked, "Satisfied?"

"Not yet," she said casually, circling around him with close inspection. She stopped back in front of him and said, "Kiss him. On the lips. Until I say stop."

"WHAT!" Ozzie, Strut, Chomper, Littlefoot, and Syn exclaimed. Asp said nothing. Star stopped shocking him long ago.

Star fell on her back, laughing hysterically with her legs kicking up wildly. "Kidding, kidding," she managed to say between giggles.

"You're disturbed." Ozzie told her with reproach. Then to himself, "She had to ruin my first touching moment in so long…"

Chomper's father roared softly to his son who in turn addressed the others.

"Sorry, guys, but it's time for me to go." There was a hint of sadness in his voice but acceptance as well.

"What, really?" Littlefoot asked in surprise. "You came all this way to see us, and now you're leaving already?"

It was almost unbelievable to him. Their island was days away (well, as far as his herd going there, anyway), and they'd barely been around to spend time together at all. It hardly seemed fair. Still, it was probably very refreshing to get off that small plot of land for new sights, so it was still probably a pretty fulfilling trip, and furthermore, it was dangerous for them to be in a place with so many leaf eaters. Littlefoot doubted very much the residents of the Great Valley would believe he had any sanity left if he told them these sharpteeth are friendly. They'd likely attack on sight. He sighed before getting his answer, for he knew what it would be.

"We all agreed to spend one night with you, and then we'd leave before daylight came," Chomper explained. "It took a long time to find that island for us to live on, and they just want me in a safe place as much as possible. They are real worriers." He paused then spoke more quietly as if his parents might somehow understand him if they heard. "But don't worry. Between you guys and me, when I get older, I'm going to ask if I can live with you guys here in the valley for a while."

"I'm not sure if our families would allow that…" Littlefoot said sadly.

"Don't worry, Littlefoot," Chomper replied hopefully. "We can never be sure of something until it happens."

"Or doesn't," Asp whispered. Syn poked his side.

"I'll see you around, buddy," Chomper replied.

Littlefoot stepped forward, and they hugged each other as if this was the last time they'd see each other again .When they let go, he waved farewell to everyone, emphatically to Star to her bemusement, as his mother scooped him up in her arms, and the sharptooth family took their leave. Not moving very fast, the children and eggeaters watched them go as they walked off into the sunset.

Syn watched them go more intently than anyone else. Her mouth opened slightly for a few seconds then closed. As her nose started to burn, she sniffed twice and lowered her head. Asp glanced in her direction mostly from instinct at hearing a noise then looked back at the sharpteeth, but he did a double take when he realized what he'd just seen. Syn was crying.

"What's wrong?" Asp asked her worriedly, stepping closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, lowering his head, and then looking up into her face. "Do you feel sick?"

Syn embraced him and buried her face in his chest.

"I'm sorry…" she kept repeating. Littlefoot got Asp's attention with a questioning look, but Asp waved him away with assurance. The yellowbelly understood. "You know how I can get when I see such beautiful relationships. First that wonderful family, then seeing those two eggeaters like that, then Chomper and Littlefoot… It's all just so beautiful. This day is beautiful, beautiful…"

Asp hugged her back and looked beyond her as the meat eaters vanished from sight. Rubbing her back, he replied, "Yes, so very beautiful."

Star watched them embrace in silent pleasure. She alone got the double meaning from his tone.

As the bright circle got higher into the sky, Littlefoot yawned and rightfully so. It was so early, and they'd barely slept at all. He started to talk before another yawn interrupted him. Finally, he got out, "We'd better get back and see if we can get any sleep before the grownups wake us up."

The other three looked at him drowsily as a response. In silence, they all turned and headed back to the entrance of the cave, nearly dragging their feet from lack of energy.

"Wait!" Ozzie called to them.

They stepped and turned but were too tired to ask what he wanted so simply waited for him to go on. Asp yawned long and hard on purpose to make it clear that they were tired and needed to get back soon.

"I just wanted to-" he paused, struggling to form the words he hadn't said in so long, "thank you," he finally finished. "Those sharpteeth spared us, and it's clearly thanks to you kids. We won't steal any more eggs from the Great Valley, and perhaps, if we meet again, I hope to return the favor." He sounded so awkward, but he was clearly doing his best to say what he felt he should.

"You don't have to repay us," Littlefoot returned with a smile. "Besides, it was really all Chomper's doing, so you should have thanked _him_ and maybe apologized too." When Ozzie looked troubled, he quickly added, "But Chomper never needs any thanks. He's happy to do the right thing when he can." He nodded at Ozzie who nodded back, finally with a smile creasing his lips that wasn't sinister.

"Aw," Star said gently to Ozzie, touched by his change his heart. Then she pursed her lips and approached Ozzie slowly. "That was so sweet! We're all friends now! Yay! So gimme a great, big kiss!"

"Strut, run!" Ozzie instructed, pushing his brother as they began tumbling away in a hurry. "That kid has issues!"

"Hey, come back! Don't you looove me?" Star questioned, chasing after them.

Littlefoot sighed as he watched her, but he smiled as well. That was Star for you- and he didn't mind at all."

After a few minutes (in which the others nearly fell asleep standing up), Star returned, and they treaded back to their nests.

As they parted, Littlefoot thought to himself, "I just hope Cera doesn't find out about this. She'll get very, very angry if she learns that she missed out on an entire visit from Chomper."

With the children's return, they slumped off to sleep in their usual spots (after Asp and Syn finished covering up Littlefoot's nest with the leaves they'd gathered), and someone's unending pride was finally revealed…

* * *

><p>Trudging through some hard, rocky ground with thriving trees that needed little water to survive, the family of sharpteeth tiredly continued making their way back home. The young one rubbed his head a bit but quickly grimaced at his error.<p>

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Chomper's mother asked worriedly at the sight of his wound as she came to a halt.

"Don't worry. I feel just fine," Chomper replied in a way that one could tell she'd already asked this a dozen times. She looked at him as if he was lying to her, but she proceeded alongside her husband regardless.

Her mate, on the other hand, found his son to be pretty tough when it came down to it, and while he had been equally concerned, it had been clear for some time that his son was doing fine now.

Wanting a change of conversation (with a transition to hide the fact he was trying to change the subject), he said, "Not that I'm glad our son got hurt or anything, but searching all over the area when we couldn't find him in the wreckage sure helped us find that valley place." His mate eyed him curiously, but he didn't get it. "It looked just like a rock cliff at first. Heh, in fact, I probably never would have discovered that was it if not for that log incident."

Now his wife actually froze. He turned to her, and her gnarled expression had amplified intensity alongside the utter silence save the wind. The trees swung back and forth against the strong gust, and while the father didn't understand yet, the air had taken on the weight of a mountain.

"I thought-" she began slowly, coldly, "that you asked that fastbiter for directions…"

His eyes widened, although he blinked a few times and rubbed them to disguise his reaction as mere dryness. "Oh, heh heh, right, right. Heh heh. Ah, her instructions just- weren't very- ah-"

"You didn't ask her a thing- did you?" she asked, and her sudden softness was fiercer than if she'd roared.

"That's not true!" he retorted indignantly. Then he slowly and quietly explained, "I- asked her- if the day- was- nice…?"

Chomper braced for impact.

"You really are hopeless!" she exclaimed, getting in his face. He kept backing away, holding up his hands, but she continued to charge.

"Um, dear, we have a young one…" he stammered, obviously seeking a shield.

Looking down at her son nestled in her arms, she asked sweetly, "You don't mind if I kill daddy, do you, dear?"

"Nope."

"Son!" his father shouted incredulously before the boy was set down, and he was tackled to the ground by a murderous wife.

As the two waged a violent battle (that was entirely one sided…), Chomper looked back towards the Great Valley and smiled.

"Someday, Littlefoot, we'll all live together. I just know it."

* * *

><p><strong>The following morning…<strong>

After a short period of sleep (not nearly enough), the children had been awoken by their parents and had gathered. There was a great panic in the valley. Heads were about to start rolling, and a building fear was eminent. There was a raging beast inside its wall ready to reign down chaos and destruction. The eyes burned through any possible victims like streaks of sky fire, and she was thirsty for blood. Standing amidst some short grass and thick, towering trees near a small watering hole, the engagement began.

"Chomper was here! And you guys didn't wake me!" The snorting from Cera's nostrils was nearly deafening and her rage crushing.

"Nice going, Asp," Littlefoot moaned, turning to him.

"What? What?"

"Forget it."

"Chomper seemed really nice," Star remarked. "Still, I think that other sharptooth here last night was cooler."

"There were two…?" Littlefoot asked in surprise.

"Uh huh! His name was Shadow, and it was really weird! He looked a lot like that Chomper guy, and I think they even talked to each other, 'cause Chomper waved at me as if he knew of me or something."

Asp motioned with his hand to get Littlefoot's attention before he could respond to her, and then the yellowbelly pointed to Star's head with one hand and held his thumb and forefinger close to together to indicate a very small unit of measurement with the other. Littlefoot frowned and turned back to Star. Syn would have poked him, but she didn't get it.

Littlefoot was going to attempt to explain to Star, as apparently she'd started following them last night later than he'd assumed, but he was interrupted yet again by the conversation he was having before he was interrupted the first time.

"What kind of friends are you!" Cera demanded. "If I saw your father, Littlefoot, and never told you, wouldn't you just be so happy?"

Trying to lighten the mood, Star announced, "Guess what, guys! I had a sleep story last night that Littlefoot wet his nest like a hatchling!"

"Hey now!" Littlefoot replied to Cera, Star's words completely drowned out. "Chomper didn't have a lot of time to be here, and it was a very complicated situation. I would have gotten you if I could, so calm down."

"Calm down! CALM DOWN! Oh, I'll calm down alright!" For some reason, no one believed her.

"And like," Star continued, '"he was all embarrassed and stuff, and it was so cute!"

"Cera, you're getting angry over nothing," Littlefoot insisted, but that was a bad choice of words. Missing out on a friend's visit wasn't nothing to anyone, and Cera was insulted beyond comprehension. With that, she stormed off in a huff. The poor longneck knew better than to go after her when she was like this, so the four of them just watched her go in awkward silence.

Trying to ease his nerves as quickly as possible, for his heart was still pounding away, Littlefoot reminded, "Oh, Asp, I just remembered. You wanted to talk to me about something, right?"

Asp paused, trying to recall, and then his face lit up moments later.

"Oh, that's right! Turning to the others present, he asked, "Would you girls please excuse us for a bit?"

Syn eyed him carefully while tilting her forehead down. She trusted him, but keeping secrets from her was so unlike him. Star nodded in the direction of the Thundering Falls, and Syn followed her with the occasional glance back. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Asp explained what was on his mind.

"I love Syn."

There was a pausing as Littlefoot's mind took this in. Asp didn't lead up to his point or anything like most dinosaurs would. He simply dropped it on him like a flying rock. However, he wanted to make sure he got the correct meaning.

Carefully, he asked, "You mean, like, love love?"

"Yes, love love," he said in a dreamy voice. "I have a crush on her. In fact, I think I might have since I was very little. I don't remember exactly when it happened, but it may have started even before our parents died, and I'm only just realizing it. Or maybe it was too small back and then, and now it's grown enough to notice. I guess I don't _fully_ understand it yet, but I know it's there."

"W- why are you telling this- to me and not her?" Littlefoot asked, confused. Was he supposed to do something about it?

"Because when I tell her," Asp continued with a twinkle in his eyes, "I want you to watch and see just how easy it is."

To his amazement, Littlefoot was now more lost than he was before getting an answer to his question. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm getting at you and Star. It's so obvious she loves you. I mean, she's flat out said it, like, a hundred times! And I think you're just at the point I was in not long ago, in love, but just not fully aware of it."

Exhaling softly but audibly from his nose, he replied, "Okay, well, even if that's true, shouldn't I became 'aware' of these feelings first?"

"Nah," Asp replied with a wave of his hand. "It's suffocating to keep seeing you turn down her affections. I'm sure they're in you too. I was honestly against it at first, but you two really go well together." Then, in an inaudible whisper, he said, "Syn will never let me hear the end of her victory…"

Littlefoot looked around in silence then made his decision.

"All that I will agree to do is watch. We'll see what happens from there."

"Fair enough," Asp responded, shrugging.

The two of them took off in the direction the girls went, or rather, Asp went the wrong way at first and had to be guided by Littlefoot. Syn and Star were standing with their backs to them a little ways away from the waterfall, and Syn was scrubbing Star's back with a large leaf. It was still pretty early in the morning, so only two dinosaurs were there as well, two grownup swimmers on the opposite end that didn't notice them at all. As they got closer, Asp raised a hand, motioning for Littlefoot to stop. He thought Asp just wanted to go on without him for this, but the yellowbelly just stood there as well.

"Um… What are we doing?" Littlefoot whispered. He felt absolutely silly watching two girls bathe each other.

"You might never get another opportunity like this again. Enjoy it," he whispered back, still looking ahead.

Littlefoot watched them for a bit, narrowed his eyes, looked down at Asp, back to the girls again, and then announced, "I don't see what's so great about this."

Asp scoffed and replied, "You're weird, Littlefoot."

The longneck was taken aback. He was just about to say the same thing about him. Syn dipped the leaf back in the water and continued, now going for Star's tail.

"I really appreciate this, Syn" Star was saying. "My mother would always get those hard-to-reach parts, and she's, you know, not around right now."

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Syn replied.

Asp continued to stare. Finally, Littlefoot had had enough of this and called to them.

"Oh, hey, guys!" Star called to them, and Syn waved as they approached. Asp looked a little dejected. However, his face brightened again soon enough, and as he walked up to Syn, he cleared his throat and proceeded to recite:

"There is something I have to say,

So listen well, dear Syn.

Life is full of many fights,

But with you, I'll always win."

She stared at him blankly as he continued. Star, however, blushed. She knew this ritual all too well.

"You're prettier than anything,

Just like blooming flower.

You are just so wonderful,

On my heart each waking hour."

Syn coughed a bit and glanced around. "Did you- hit your head? Drink dirty water? Eat a purple plant?" she questioned.

"I have you, so I am perfectly fine," he replied.

Littlefoot exhaled slowly through his mouth and thought to himself, "This is supposed to be easy? Does he really expect me to try talking like that to Star?"

"Err, what are you trying to say, Asp?" Syn wanted to know. She couldn't tell if he was trying to be funny, serious, or a bit of both. Her feelings were mixed at the compliments because she found his words to be touching yet a little embarrassing in front of everyone because she didn't find herself to be anything special. Was he trying to make a point? Practicing for something else? Or just in a goofy mood?

"Aw, isn't it obvious?" Star cooed as if she could read Syn's mind. "He loves you!"

There was a gust of wind that blew through them, and it was as if only the yellowbellies were present. All other noises were drowned out save the muffled hissing of the waterfall. Asp bore an alluring grin enkindled with expectancy. He slowly extended his hand towards her then uncurled his fingers, all the while keeping his eyes locked on hers.

Syn's vision, however, shifted from his face to his hand then back to his countenance. Her expression was hard to describe. Shock is like extreme surprise, and vice versa, surprise is mild shock. Picture a midway point between the two, as if she was more than surprised but not to an extreme degree. Her look begged the question, "R-really?" but not in a way that actually doubted the claim, but rather, Syn seemed to take it as too good to be true while knowing that it really was true. Her mouth opened slightly without her realizing it, and her body was tense, her heart beating rapidly.

_Giggling, two hatchlings sat in a small watering hole as their parents sat nearby under the shade of a tree, talking. It was one of the rare, fertile areas out in the wasteland that made up a great deal of the Mysterious Beyond. Besides the water, there was just a little grass, a bush, and the tree._

_ The water was very shallow, only coming up to the kiddies' stomachs despite their tiny size and position. It was cool and soothing, and they were very happy to relax after their long trek. The environment wasn't enough for the boy, though. It had to be complete with atmosphere as well._

_ "Okay, here's the next one: What did the flyer say to his herd when they told him they were lost?_

_ "I dunno," she replied with a shrug._

_ "Guess!' the boy insisted. "You gotta guess."_

_ "Mm…" she said with the front of her index finger on her lips. "'Sorry'?"_

_ The boy started laughing so hard that he fell onto his back. He continued so fiercely that the girl felt very silly. She had known she would, but he told her she had to guess!_

_ "I'm ha ha ha I'm so- I'm sorry ha ha, whew, that was funny," he replied, wiping a tear away. "No ho ho, no, that was a good guess, really."_

_ "What's the answer then?" she asked a little indignantly._

_ "He said, 'I know. I was just winging it.'"_

_ There was the briefest pause as it sunk in before they both started laughing hard. So strongly, in fact, their tummies hurt, so they had to bring things under control. The girl had a harder time ceasing, though, so the boy decided to "cool her off" with a barrage of splashes. He stood up and began dipping his hands in the water and thrusting them out to shower her with a refreshing spray. However, this only made her giggle all the more. Eventually, the boy was splashing so hard that he lost his balance and fell over. This action resulted in an entirely different response than previously._

_ She got up at once, stepped closer, hunched down with her hands on her knees, and asked, "You okay?"_

_ "Yeah, fine, fine. I'm fine," he answered, looking down._

_ Despite the girl's extensive youth, she knew well enough that when a boy insists he's fine three times, he is either embarrassed or not fine at all. She waited patiently to see which. It turned out to be both._

_ He'd scraped his elbow on a rock, and it was bleeding but only slightly. To someone of that age, however, it was a very big deal. Tears streamed down his face, and he clutched it from his lying position._

_ "Aw… You have a booboo?" she asked him. He nodded while still looking at it. "Here," she then said._

_ He looked up, and her hand was slowly extending down to him, her fingers uncurling in the process. The boy looked up at her, then her hand, and finishing back on her smile, he took her hand as she helped him up._

_ Even though the scrape caused no trouble with walking, she still helped him over to their parents so they could take care of his wound. He glanced at her with a sheepish grin in the process. Sitting on his mother's lap, Syn stood in front of him intently. As his mother cleaned his arm off with a leaf, he said, "Thank you." She blushed a little. "And someday, I'll give you my hand too, okay? And you'll take it, right Syn?"_

Syn suddenly shook her head to clear her thoughts back to the here and now. Asp was still standing before her, but she realized that while in her memory, she had only delayed a couple of seconds.

Was this what Asp had in mind back then? Had he really loved her since they were really little? If so, did he love her just because she'd helped him, or was it more than that, at least at this point? Then she frowned inwardly. Who cares about the details? They're irrelevant. Asp was in love with her, and she was open to and willing to return that feeling wholeheartedly.

She forced herself to be so determined about this that she reached out her hand too quickly for her taste and squeezed his far harder than ever before. Asp was a little startled by her vigor, and she was too, actually, but they both looked into each other's eyes, and there was a couple. They embraced, and for the first time ever, they pressed with equal strength.

After a few moments, Asp's gaze moved to Littlefoot, and he let go with one hand momentarily to point at Star. He shook his head, but the yellowbelly continued to thrust his forefinger until the young Littlefoot exhaled slightly through his mouth and approached Star.

Star was admiring the two hugging with a big smile of pleasure, and he stepped up beside her, also looking at them to hide the fact he moved closer to her for her sake.

"They're beautiful together, huh?" Star asked him.

He turned to her and said, "Yes," before looking back at the yellowbellies.

When he said nothing more, resulting in utter silence, Asp dug his foot into the earth and kicked it back, splattering Littlefoot chest with a clod of dirt. Glaring at Asp, he wracked his brain for a continuation of the conversation, trying to be like Asp was earlier. He hoped this would work, or at least, not sound utterly stupid, because he couldn't hold many words in his noggin for long. He was going to have to wing it. He said, "Um," to get Star's attention who turned to him, and he continued with:

"I- really want to tell you something,

So I want you- to listen closely, Star.

No matter where I am standing,

Our hearts are- never really- that far."

Asp gave him a thumbs up sign, signaling for him to keep it up.

"And- uh- your face really shines so brightly,

Just like the- beautiful bright circle.

I want to be with you very much,

So I hope a relationship will, uh, work-ll?"

He finished slowly with a very awkward tone. "Workll?" Wow…

Star, however, didn't find it funny at all. She instead seemed more touched and thrilled than he'd ever seen her before. Blushing, she quietly said, "That was wonderful. I accept!" Relieved and thinking he was going to have a peaceful, emotional moment with his new girlfriend, he let his guard down. That was a mistake.

She tackled him to the ground, and they landed with a thud, her on top. Before any objection could be made, she planted her lips on his. This time, however, he didn't resist or try moving away. Asp was right. This just felt so good.

Still together, Syn whispered, "Littlefoot got with Star, not Ali. I will never let you hear the end of my victory."

"Doh!"

Meanwhile, Cera had finally cooled off, coming to grips with how the incident of before wasn't really anyone's fault, so she had gone looking for her friends. She had no idea where they were, but luckily, she happened upon them very quickly, only searching Littlefoot's nesting area before trying the Thundering Falls. Upon arrival, she found everyone kissing someone and froze.

"Uh, did I miss something?" she asked them, her eyes moving from dinosaur to dinosaur.

Asp finally pulled away and replied with a chuckle, "Something? You missed everything." When her face revealed a potential rage coming on, he quickly added, "But I'll fill you in later." Then he stood atop a rock in the water and announced, "Today begins a new period, as love was finally shared not once, not twice, but four times. Our lives have just gotten a whole lot better- and, more amusing."

"Tee hee," Syn replied with a giggle and a curled hand at her mouth, "you sound like you're narrating a story," Syn told him.

"Heh heh, hey, you're right," he replied. "I did sound pretty interesting, huh?"

"Don't be silly," Cera cut in with a rolling of her eyes. "Who would actually enjoy a story about us?

**Chapter End**

"Great. Just great. Yeah, it's Cera again. I only came back to say how irritating this is. You see, next time on Familiar Love, there is an accident, so instead of things getting more interesting, things might just get really dull! I'm worried about my friend and all, but I hate being bored! What's worse, it looks like we'll be stuck like this for days. Days! Blah, just wait and see for yourself. I'm too mad to talk anymore."


	18. Falling in Love

**Chapter XVII: Falling in Love**

The bright circle was barely up, and so it was still rather cool. Fresh dew clung to the clover and grass, a garden of diamonds in the lush paradise. Asp and Syn were cuddled closely together for warmth, and the sleeping sounds of Littlefoot's grandparents were audible from their grandchild's location. His nose twitched, and he rubbed it before turning to his other side. As the degree of light he sensed suddenly diminished, he slowly and groggily opened his eyes. Star's face was directly in front of his. With her breath tickling his lips and a huge smile bearing into him with no warning, his lids shot open with a yelp.

Star giggled as he drowsily got to his feet, his eyes closed again, and he yawned deeply before speaking.

"What is it, Star? It's so early…" he mumbled before yawning again.

"When we get older, I want seven children!"

The abrupt news caused him to choke on his sleepy intake of breath.

"We need to take this dating thing nice and sl-"

"Okay, six children!"

"Star, you're not-"

"I get to name the kids, too. I'm probably better at it," she remarked, looking up thoughtfully.

"Now hold on for just a-"

"I want to be kissed at least ten times a day. Oh, and I want my lower back rubbed before bedtime each night. It feels sooo good. And make that ten children."

Littlefoot sat up immediately with a start and looked around. Star had been lying right beside him, her body slowly rising and falling with each involuntary breath, but his yelp caused her to wake her up. She raised her neck slowly and turned to him.

"What is it, Littlefoot?" she asked groggily. "It's so early…"

"Was I just- dreaming?" he wondered aloud.

Star yawned and sat up with increased interest. "Maybe," she replied with a bouncy shrug. "What happened?"

"You wanted ten children," he recalled with a shudder.

Star paused in contemplation for so long that Littlefoot thought he was still dreaming and she was frozen. Then, as if her response was so difficult to come to, she said, "Yep, that was a sleep story. That gives me an idea though…"

"Star!" Littlefoot exclaimed more loudly than he wanted to, causing him to suddenly hush and look around to make sure he hadn't woken anyone.

"Kidding, kidding," she said gleefully.

Littlefoot sighed. "I think we should have a talk. This relationship thing just happened so fast that my head is spinning. I just don't fully understand…" He trailed off for so long that Star thought she was dreaming and Littlefoot had turned to stone. She bonked him on the head with her front foot to check, and when she felt the warm flesh and heard his startled cry, she knew this was real. He was going to ask about her action, but he quickly thought it best not to even bother and stared downward.

"You don't fully understand what?" Star asked him at last, sounding serious and scooting closer to him to slowly licking his cheek in one upward sweep. He didn't flinch. Having someone be your girlfriend drastically changes your reactions to some things.

Still looking at the ground, he answered, "I don't know."

"How very informative!" she exclaimed with a grin and her tongue sticking out.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he retorted. Then he sighed and softened his tone since she had done nothing wrong. "I'm just not sure what to feel about all of this. I had sort of the same feeling a long time ago when I had to parent a baby sharptooth."

"Dating me feels like being a sharptooth daddy…?" Star asked slowly. She wasn't sure if he was joking or serious, and if he was serious, she wasn't sure if it was an insult or a huge insult.

"No, no!' he replied quickly. "It's just-" he paused, searching for the right words. "It's a new kind of relationship I'm just not used to. I know about being a grandson, a son, a brother, and a friend. A father or a boyfriend, I just don't really get yet."

Star stood up slowly and looked at him adoringly. "All new relationships are like that, my love." Littlefoot blushed at the title. "Until your head gets them down, just let your heart guide you. They can be really talkative, you know."

"Heh," Littlefoot chuckled, lowering his head even further.

"Is something funny?" she asked him precariously.

"No," he replied both wistfully and cherishingly, "it's just that my mother said something to me like that a while back."

Star snorted and leaned back. "Mm, just what every girlfriend likes to hear. I sound like your mother…"

"Hey, it was a compliment!" he insisted.

"Compliments that insult are the best!" Star replied ill-manneredly. Then she stopped. "Wait a minute…"

"What?" he asked her cautiously.

"We're having our first fight since we got together! What a big moment… When we finish, our bond will be stronger than ever!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down cheerfully.

"You- know a lot about relationships, huh?" Littlefoot asked quietly.

"Oh! What gave it away?" she inquired curiously, ceasing her bouncing.

"Never mind," he replied with a chuckle. Then, trying to be as serious as possible, told her, "I just think we need to talk about something. You see-"

"Wait!" Star stopped him suddenly.

"Yes?" Littlefoot asked impatiently through gritted teeth. Why was it taking so long to have such a simple conversation? Oh, wait… This was Star we're talking about.

"We need to take a walk as we chat," she insisted.

"Why?" Littlefoot didn't know if he wanted to know.

"Silly! It's more romantic that way," she replied, bouncing again.

"I had to ask…" he mumbled, but he was grinning. He figured they were both a little emotionally unstable right now because it was just so early, yet he had expected quite the opposite of more stress and displeasure after the creation of such a bond. They both were so tired, but he decided it would be best to do this privately, when everyone else was sleeping. Still, it boggled his mind how Asp and Syn could sleep so soundly despite being so close. How he envied such deep slumber. He made a slight shushing sound as they walked past the yellowbellies so as not to press their luck and began a leisurely stroll through the valley.

They walked for a few minutes, in silence, to Star's surprise. The walk was pleasant though. The cool dew beneath them felt like a massaging bath on their feet, and the bright circle was gradually increasing its warmth to create a tremendously cozy feeling. Star shivered from the comfort and leaned against her boyfriend as they walked. They passed by a few bushes, but their path was mostly open, very few trees in their way or beside them. When they reached the great wall, instead of stopping, they turned and began moving alongside it.

Though she enjoyed this immensely, she was ever the impatient one. "So, what's on your mind?"

"I want to take things as slowly as possible, Star." He turned to her as they continued to walk to gauge her reaction.

"Hee hee. That's rather different than when we kissed earlier." She had a twinkle in her eyes.

"That was- I was just caught up in the moment…" he insisted without sounding very assuring.

"You didn't like it?" she questioned coyly.

"Sure I enjoyed it," he was able to answer right away. "But, it scared me too. I've never done anything like that before. This kind of love is a long journey, and if I run along the path too fast at the start, I'm going to get too worn out to finish."

"Oh, cool, a cave! Let's continue inside. Caves are sooo romantic."

Littlefoot decided then and there that Star could found mud romantic if she wanted to, and her lack of focus saddened him. This was important. Did she not feel the same?

"Are you listening to me?" he asked quietly.

"Wow, there are holes on top, so it's not very dark," she remarked, looking upward.

"Star."

"The air inside smells really fresh, not damp and musty like most caves." She peered inside, eyes dancing about merrily.

"Star!"

With a furrowed brow, she said, "I wonder if it's straight or if it splits off into different directions…"

"STAR!"

"Hm? Did you want something?" she asked, not turning to him.

"No, I don't want- I mean, well yes, I-" Littlefoot stopped and took a deep breath. "Stardipper, I will walk with you in that cave if you agree to listen to everything I say."

"Wow, the ceiling in there isn't very high."

That did it. That- did it. Littlefoot could not take this a moment further. He was a very patient longneck, but even he had his limits. Although he had not done this since Cera had insulted his mother long, long ago, he just couldn't help it. In his frustration, he tackled Star to the ground.

"NOW YOU LISTEN HERE!" he bellowed.

Star raised her head up and pecked him on the lips. He was about to object, but, like before, it just felt so good that he went along with it instead. When they finally broke apart, she spoke to him sweetly.

"Okay, I'm listening. Con-tin-uuue!"

He was going to say how angry she had made him, but that kiss had melted his aggravations away. The pleasure his body felt made anything negative an impossibility. He had thought love gave only emotional reactions, but his happiness was physical too for once. Now he was left unsure of how to continue what was on his mind, the good feeling confusing, enjoyable, and distracting.

"Let's just explore this cave," he said at last. "If you would also listen to what I have to say, I'd appreciate it."

"Wow, this is great," Star said, again looking into the cave. Littlefoot was dumbfounded at first, thinking she was _still_ paying him little to no heed. "I get to walk in this cool cave and listen to my beloved talk at the same time. It just doesn't get any better."

Littlefoot grinned as he led the way inside. The holes above provided ample light as they made their way through. At first, even he was too caught up in the beauty of their surroundings to say anything, but at last, he turned to her and found his voice.

"I believe that I love you, Star, but I need more time to understand my feelings. Asp- kind of- hurried me along in this," he admitted.

"Hee hee hee," she giggled in reply, not fazed at all. "Remind me to thank him for that."

"I'll try," he said back with a quick chuckle so he would seem polite. "But anyway, you and I are very different. You know your feelings and want to move quickly. I'm still trying to get all of this, and so I need to take things, well, slowly. This can happen, though, if we work something out."

"I'm listening," Star replied, much to his delight.

"I want to take breaks from being your boyfriend. I mean," he paused, feeling he worded that completely wrong, "I'll still be your boyfriend, but at times, I just want us to act like regular buddies. When I know my feelings better, we can act like boyfriends and girlfriends do all time. Is that alright with you?"

"You want breaks, huh? I can understand." She smiled vainly. "I'm quite a girl. I can wear down any boy with my dazzling charm and bubbly personality," she replied, half serious, half-jokingly. "Very well. At times, when you need it, I'll act just like a friend to you. Oh, wait…"

"Hm?"

"Do regular friends kiss each other?"

"Uh- no."

"Aw… I don't want my lips getting out of practice," she said with emphatic sadness, giving him big eyes and an outstretched mouth

"Don't worry. If they start to get that way, just kiss Cera. I'm sure she'd like that," Littlefoot suggested with a laugh.

Before Star could say a word in reply, the very earth interrupted their date. Without any warning, no gradual increase of movement, the ground began to tremble violently. The stone teeth above them started to shake then fall at dangerous speeds. The kids kept their eyes looking up and began dodging them without a word as they began running out of the cave. Suddenly, Star stopped.

Littlefoot skidded to a halt, turned back, and cried out, "What's wrong!" It was hard to hear over all the noise, but he was just loud enough.

"My side itches. Just a sec," she replied, pulling her back leg up to scratch. "Ah…"

"For real!" he shouted in disbelief, running to her backside and shoving her ahead just in time to protect her from two falling rocks as she continued to tend her itch. That was unfortunate for him, however.

Not just one, but both bits of the falling debris hit him instead. One landed on his back, grazing a deep gash as it slid off, and the other nicked his head, enough to daze him.

"Okay, my itch is go- Whoa, are you alright?" she asked in surprise, seeing the blood on his head and back. She hadn't sounded anywhere near this serious since she'd injured Syn a while back.

"So- blurry…" he answered almost inaudibly. He tried looking at Star, but she seemed like a strafing trio that kept going out of focus.

"Don't worry! It's my turn to push you!" she exclaimed, getting behind him and shoving his rear with her head.

He was too out of it to get to his feet, but she was surprisingly strong, shoving him along on his belly to the exit. They were doing well, the rocks fortunately missing the children moving in a straight line, but when almost upon the light of day, a small rock fell right in front of them, but Star from behind didn't see it and gave Littlefoot another hard shove to keep him going. He suddenly stopped from the impact, and the full force was on one of his outstretched legs.

"Sorry!" she apologized at his torturous yelp, rushing to his front to remove the obstacle.

"The p-pain…" he whimpered, relaxing that leg more than the rest of his body.

The cave was really started to fall apart now; rocks were crashing down from all over. With a burst of adrenaline, Star stepped back then rammed Littlefoot continuously all the way out of the cave until they were safely outside. Just when they had exited, the whole place came crashing down, filling the grotto completely. They both stopped for several seconds in silence, breathing too hard to even think clearly.

"Thanks," Littlefoot whispered weakly at last then groaned in agony.

"Anything for my dear, sweet Littlefoot," she replied lovingly. She knelt down beside him and licked the wound on his head. His breathing was still unsettled and heart pounding away, but he managed to speak clearly.

"Heh heh. My mother used to say that too." His voice sounded as if he hadn't had water in days.

"What did I tell you about comparing a girlfriend to your mother!" Star _wanted_ to reply, but even she understood a few times for tact to be employed.

"How is your foot?" she asked instead, looking more closely at the one he was babying. "Oh my, it's so swollen! And purple!"

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be moving around much for a while with this."

"Hey, there they are!" a voice called out. Littlefoot looked in the speaker's direction, and though he still couldn't see very clearly, he recognized who'd spoken. It was Asp, and he was accompanied by Syn and Cera. They were moving fairly quickly as it was, but seeing their friend in trouble, they rushed over at once and stood by his side. They were all gathered in a dusty area with no grass, so the stampede kicked up quite a cloud. Littlefoot began coughing miserably.

"Sorry!" Asp exclaimed at once.

"I'm okay," he replied. "Don't worry about me."

The male yellowbelly took one look at Littlefoot's swollen foot and remarked, "Gee, you guys must have had a REALLY romantic time. And I thought for sure you two would start out gentle."

"It's not like that," Littlefoot said quietly with a weak chuckle and a few wheezes.

"Well, you can tell us all about it," he replied with a smirk. He wanted to relax Littlefoot's as much as possible before moving him back to his grandparents so they could help him, as the transfer was certainly going to be painful beyond belief. The longneck seemed pretty settled as it was, but he was suspicious that the wounds were about to make him scream at any moment. Not taking any chances, he made sure Littlefoot's mindset was at ease. However, the delay clearly wasn't sitting well with someone. Turning, he saw Syn's stupefied state. Anyone present could joke about injuries to lighten the mood so the victim of an accident would have less of a chance to panic- except for her.

Syn was horrified at Littlefoot's body, and her trembling hand went to her mouth in continued silence as she began sniffing. Asp was about to comfort her until she fell on her knees and hugged Littlefoot tightly.

"It'll be alright," she assured him. "We'll make sure you get taken care of." Her embrace on his lying body was snug but not tight enough to cause any discomfort. She slowly stood up, not taking her eyes off of him then sharply turned to the others. "What are you waiting for!" she asked so bluntly that everyone present momentarily couldn't believe it was mild-mannered Syn addressing them. "He's hurt! Stop with the jokes and small talk and help me get him back! NOW!"

Even Littlefoot, who was the only one not being ordered, gulped nervously. Syn may be a sweet little girl most of the time, but when she got down to things, she spoke with terrifying authority. Asp, Cera, and Star snapped to attention and each got a corner of him, Syn getting the last. The two leggers were holding their part up with their hands underneath while the other two hoisted their section up with the top of their heads, Cera mindful not to put pressure in her horn area.

"Don't stop or slow down for anything! Move out!" she commanded.

As if on fear of death, they all marched with a brisk pace without any sign of reducing speed whatsoever.

With Syn in charge, it wasn't long at all before they had arrived back at Littlefoot's grandparents' place who were drinking the morning dew together.

"Grandpa and grandma longneck!" Syn called to them, and they both turned quickly at the urgency in her voice. There was no delay in thought when those aged pairs of eyes looked down.

"Oh dear!" his grandma exclaimed as she ran forward with thundering footsteps alongside her mate. They were dead serious, so focused on him that they didn't even notice the kids carrying him. They set him down gently in the clearing of grass and backed away.

Looking at his head, back, and leg wound, his grandfather asked, "Are you in a lot of pain, Littlefoot?"

"Not really," he said reassuringly, not wanting either of them to worry, though it was a blatant lie yet again. "The pain has mostly gone away. My leg has gone numb now." He was expressing his hope rather than his reality. He did his best not to wince when more pain shot through his body.

"I'll put a leaf on your head and back to stop the bleeding," his grandpa told him. "Then some crushed ones to help ease the swelling of your ankle."

He went over to a nearby tree and grabbed a single, large tree star in his mouth and placed it on his grandson's head gently before pressing it down. His grandmother followed with one to his back. Then they both gathered several more greens from the tree. Setting them on a clean part of the ground, he mashed them up into a goo then asked for Asp or Syn to come over.

Both yellowbellies stepped forward at once, but Asp turned to her and said, "I got it. You were the one who woke up when those two left and found them, so this will be my share of the work."

He bent down and scooped up the mush. As he walked over to Littlefoot, it dripped from his fingers onto his toes, so he kicked his feet forward to get it off. Cera was yawning as the goop was flung into her mouth.

"Ugh, _patooey_!" she exclaimed, spitting over and over again. "Watch where you're kicking!"

"Sorry, sorry."

When he got to Littlefoot, he knelt down and set the goo on his ankle, spreading it around all over then gently patted it down.

"Thank you," Littlefoot told him. "You really seem to know what you're doing."

"You're welcome, and that's because I do. I did this to Syn once back when she got hurt." Then he stood back up and patted his hands together to get the remaining residue off. "There, I'm done. Feeling any better?"

Now Littlefoot felt incredibly awkward due to his fib. It did feel much better, but he couldn't tell Asp that to make him feel good like he deserved because…

"Duh, Asp!" Cera retorted. "He said he was numb which means he can't feel at all, so of course it doesn't feel better! Weren't you listening?"

"Sorry," he said quietly. Littlefoot felt just awful, and he barely noticed his body now.

"Well, Mr. Longneck, do you really think Littlefoot won't be walking for days?" Star asked, full of concern.

"I'm afraid so," he replied, still never taking his eyes off of him. "And he'll need all the friendship he can get while he heals up," he replied with a comforting smile. Both he and Littlefoot's grandmother wanted to know how this happened, but it didn't matter, and now was especially not the time to trouble him with questions. What did count was that he was okay and that he had companions who were there for him.

"He'll get all he needs right here!" Star exclaimed, nuzzling up against him.

All the while, neither of Littlefoot's grandparents really paid attention to anyone else. They were too focused on their grandchild to the point that everyone eventually grew silent, but the grownups soon realized they were making things too grim and so, after kissing him, left them to socialize.

"Great," Cera moaned. "Now things are going to get very boring around here."

"Don't worry," Star told her. Then she, realizing that Littlefoot's body should probably have rest from all physical contact for a bit, came up and kissed Cera on the cheek.

"Wh- what did you do that for!" Cera demanded, turning red.

"Aw, don't be angry. It was Littlefoot's idea."

"Star, I was kidding…" Before Cera and Littlefoot could get into a huge argument at this time, Asp decided to publicly support the previous statement to keep the threehorn happy. He did not want Littlefoot getting worked up while hurt and exhausted.

"I have to agree with Cera," Asp commented. She stared at him incredulously. "It seems things might get pretty boring around here for a while. We'll be staying with Littlefoot as much as possible to keep him company, and not much can happen with that. But life isn't just about having fun. It's also about doing what needs to be done. Besides, who says we can't have at least a little fun right here?" Nearly everyone looked up at him, their morale boosted by his speech. "I have a game in mind right now, actually. Who's up for-" But he was interrupted by the sound of rhythmic breathing. Everyone exchanged grins, stood up quietly, and walked away, save Star who lay by his side.

Their fun would have to wait, but at least their friendship never rested.

**Chapter End**

"I'm really sorry that my friends are stuck with me like this for a while, but at the same time, I'm really happy that they're willing to be here for me. So I'm sad but glad all at once. I really do have amazing friends, and I hope they'll always care about me just like I will about them. It may seem like the next few chapters won't be any fun to read since I can't move for a while, and if they were still about us, they probably wouldn't be. Thankfully, next time on Familiar Love, it's time that readers get to know a whole new set of characters in- The Slash Arc. They end up having some unusual connections to not only the present, but the past as well… So Littlefoot here, saying good-bye to you all for now."


	19. 4 Kids Plus 1 Mother Equals 4 Dinosaurs

**The Slash Arc**

**Chapter XVIII: 4 Kids + 1 Mother = 4 Dinosaurs**

A sharptooth was standing on top of a grassy hill during a violent thunderstorm. Lightning flickered, brilliant flashes across the sky, and thunder boomed in the distance. The water soaked him, pouring over every inch of his body, blinding him and chilling him to the bone. The boy, however, never flinched or shivered. He merely kept looking ahead, waiting for something or someone. He shook at last when an icy wind blew from the north, hitting him with a merciless assault. No one could tell, even if someone was directly in front of him, but some of the water pouring down his face was not from the weather.

He was very small, but not for his age. Standing a little over three feet tall, his dark-green scales glistened in the moonlight and shimmered with every flash of sky fire. His two red eyes glowed with the brightness of hope yet cowered back in preparation of disaster. His mouth was moving, but no sound came out. The lone child seemed to be mouthing "Where?" repeatedly. Though his position remained unchanging, his face and vision darted around in a crazed frenzy. His heart was not beating fast, but he still felt each and every one as if it were trying to blow up his chest. Another gust of wind had his mind screaming for shelter, for warmth, for the loving arms of his…

Movement in the air quickly caught his eyes, a flying sharptooth even younger than he was. His skin was dark-brown, and if not for the sharptooth's keen eyesight, he never would have seen him flying from so far away. Yet he did, and his heart skipped a beat as he swallowed. It pained him, for he had breathed in so much water that his throat was red and sore inside, burning torturously with each admittance of spit. The flyer landed before him, wrapped his arms around himself for warmth, and shivered with his head down. The sharptooth, however, would not allow him to rest.

He stepped forward, lowering his face to the flyer's level, and asked in a voice that clearly gave away his tears, "Did you find my dad? Did you?" There was something horribly, horribly wrong. His father never took an entire day to return from a hunt, nowhere close. Over an hour was cause for anxiety. This was a nightmare. If no one could find him, then…

The little guy shook his head.

"Nope. I looked all over, too." Then his voice perked up, hoping to be a bringer of good news in the end, even if not the expected. "I found a swimmer family, though, just a short distance away. They're asleep and totally defenseless. Boy, do they look yummy!" Just likes tears, his drool was camouflaged by the rain.

"I don't care about food right now!" the sharptooth screamed, startling the flyer into falling into a puddle just behind him. "Find my father, now! Get up, keep looking! He has to be somewhere. FIND HIM!"

The poor child couldn't help but hesitate. He was freezing, starving, exhausted, and most of all, he had searched everywhere. His friend's dad just wasn't in the area anymore, at least, not the side he had been assigned to search. When the flyer didn't move, the sharptooth picked him up by his torso, terrifying him as he looked threateningly into his hazel eyes, and he was about to yell at him further when yet another flyer entered the scene, a female older than both of them. They each turned their heads towards her.

"Please put him down," she told him softly, gazing at him through pleading eyes that bore at him from her bright-yellow flesh. The light blue of her eyes softened his rage, and he set him down, not too roughly.

He turned his entire body to her and asked, his voice gentle again, "Please tell me you found him. Please. Please…" He fell on his knees, his hands breaking his fall as they splashed in a puddle. "Please…"

This girl, unlike the other, was not going to find a cheerier topic. She was going to address the one they had. And, unlike the sharptooth, her stream of tears was very visible despite the storm. She opened her mouth to speak, but at first, all that happened afterwards was a deepening in the sadness of her countenance.

"I am so sorry," she told the sharptooth, lowering her head. "I will be here for you, always."

The confusion brought his anger back as he clenched his fists. Another bolt of lightning skittered across the sky, flashing on his scowl.

"What are you talking about!" he demanded over the roaring noise of the storm. "Did you find him? Where is he? Where is my father? Tell me!"

"He's- resting peacefully..." She wanted to leave his eyes, but she did not.

"NO!" the young sharptooth roared, immediately waking up in the dead of night into a sitting position. His eyes were filled with fright and trickling with a crystalline fluid.

The place he called home was still very dark. Nestled between two large mountains where grass grew thick and a creek flowed through the pass, numerous sharpteeth lived, though it was far from crowded. In the crags of the mountainsides and in some trees were the nests of many a carnivorous flyer. Other adult sharpteeth with families were littered throughout the area, some against a wall, others more centered. The snoring was blatant and echoic, but it was gotten used to quickly. Nerves still at unrest, his only comfort was the thought that he had awoken no one.

He was, however, still breathing hard, and he covered his face with his shaking hands. His fingers curled in respite, and he knew in despair that he was not going to be falling back asleep tonight. As he sat there in misery, he did not notice the fastbiter girl leaning against a tree nearby with her head down and arms crossed. Her complexion was similar to his, only a lot lighter, but she was not even half his size despite being roughly the same age. Her face showed no concern or energy, and the greyness of her eyes was dull and stoic.

"What kind of nightmare was it this time?" she asked quietly with a strong sense of boredom, causing him to jump. Anyone could tell she didn't care and was only expressing curiosity. "It must have been horrific. Your talking in your sleep woke me up, and I was about to return the favor if you hadn't come to."

"I'm sorry…" he said apologetically, not even turning in her direction. He felt badly for waking her, but he did not want to repeat his dream. Instead, he wanted to forget about it as soon as possible. All the while, he did not uncover his face.

"There's something clearly wrong with you," the girl said with a sigh, getting off the tree and standing erect. "You're seriously disturbed, Slash. I've never met anyone have so many nightmares. Your dad died a long time ago."

"Heh," Slash chuckled lightly, taking his hands off of his face. "You always know just how to make a guy feel better, Leaf."

"Don't waste your sarcasm. You've known me long enough. If you're messed up, I'm not going to call you something else." With that, she turned and began walking back to her nest. "And if you wake me up again, I will kill you."

"Yeah, I know," Slash replied to himself with a grin and rolling of his eyes. "Well, good night, Leaf."

"I don't see anything good about it." That being said, the little fastbiter slunk into the darkness.

Slash was still smiling. Despite Leaf's utter lack of concern, unbeknownst to her, their talk had cheered him up somehow. It seemed that he just needed to speak to someone who would listen, and while Leaf may seem to lack all friendly qualities (and she herself would attest to that description), she was a great listener. It may be that she only waited to ensure that her insults were sound, but either way, he was glad she happened to be there. As a result, he was now able to get back to sleep after all.

**The following morning…**

The area was quiet. Too quiet. The unusual silence was so out of the ordinary that if most any of the residents had woken up, they'd think they were dreaming.

Slash was being stalked, yet his eyes remained closed, and his chest heaved up and down systematically. He looked so peaceful, but that was about to drastically change.

A flying sharptooth was circling around overhead. No one saw him. His devious smile was frightening, and his target was clear as he gazed upon the earth below. He chose his time carefully- now! With a sudden swoop, he entered a dive at an incredible speed, hurling towards Slash with deadly accuracy. Closing the gap in mere seconds, he braced for impact when- Slash reached up, eyes still closed, and grabbed him before he collided with him.

"Ah! I thought you were still asleep. You were faking! No fair, no fair!" the young flyer moaned, folding his dark-brown wings as Slash sat up and set him down. The kid's face couldn't be any more adorable. Even his saddest looks made you just want to play with him.

"I'm so used to your diving wake up calls that I now come to early enough on my own to stop them, being as you refuse to quit every time I tell you to," Slash told him crossly.

"Aw… I was hoping you'd wake up with one of your good moods. So I guess you're too irritable right now to get me breakfast…" He looked away sadly then snuck a hopeful peek back at Slash's face when he thought he wasn't looking.

"Just go away, Dez," Slash moaned tiredly, plopping onto his back, stretching out his arms, and then looking up to the sky. The light was too bright, however, so he swung his wrist around to rest over his eyes. Dez wasn't quite finished yet, though.

"Um, what if-" he paused slyly, acting in thought but clearly having known the rest from the get go so stopping for pure effect, "I gave you a big hug?" With that, he hopped onto Slash's chest and kept jumping on it.

"Get off!" he exclaimed, sitting up so quickly that Dez tumbled to the ground. He began to cry at once. Slash rolled his eyes and looked in another direction.

"Slash!" a female flying sharptooth shouted as she landed in front of him, her bright-yellow skin a blatant sight so in the early morning. "What did you do to my little brother?"

"He- _sniff_ he threw me off of him," Dez sniffed.

"Wha- I didn't throw you anywhere!" Slash yelled angrily, turning back with a red face. "You were jumping on my chest, and I sat up, so you fell off! It's your own fault!"

"You're a big meanie!" Dez told him indignantly.

"Boys!" the female interrupted. "Dez, you should not be jumping on Slash."

"But-"

"And Slash, you need to be gentle with my baby brother."

"Whatever."

"Now, I want you two to hug and make up or else I am not going to stop asking until you do. Don't forget the last time you tested me. We were up all night," she reminded sternly. Dez looked at Slash with a frown, and Slash returned it with a rolling of his eyes. "Come on now, get it over with."

Slash stood up emphatically, tromped over, and thrust out his arms without facing him. Dez flew up and hugged him only to quickly let go and get off.

"There. Now don't we all feel better?" she asked with a cheery smile, tilted head, and closed eyes that radiated alongside the sun.

"You ask the stupidest questions, Serene," a familiar voice called from behind them. They all turned to see Leaf leaning against a tree with her arms folded and her head down. "What's there to feel better about, huh?" She waited for an answer because she knew there wasn't one, and the silence would surely make the others feel awkward. "The day is too cold, it looks like it's going to start pouring, and we're all starving."

"Aw, don't be like that, glum face," Serene answered as her smile continued. "I can't do anything about the weather, but I can help with that last one."

"Big sis?" Dez asked excitedly, his eyes widening, "You mean- you found some food!"

"Yep! I actually just came from searching. A nest of flyers just recently hatched, and the mom flew off, I think to get some food. I never saw a dad anywhere, and a mom would only leave her nest alone if there was no one else to look after it. If we hurry, we can get to them before she comes back."

"This is wonderful!" Slash explained, grinning and taking in a deep breath of the crisp morning air before exhaling. "You're awesome, Serene!"

"Yay!" Serene exclaimed with a laugh. "Your mood changed."

"I doubt it will last long," Leaf remarked before getting off the tree and following where Serene was leading them. Dez sat on Slash's shoulder as they all pressed on, straight out of the pass they lived in and into the open world.

A large, beautiful grassy field as far as the eye could see lay stretched out before them. Patches of flowers, small hills, trees, and more of the creek filled the land with inviting splendor. Their feet (save the flyers) were cooled as they trampled over the morning dew, and they travelled with smiling face- save Leaf. As usual, she trailed in the back with a look neither of contentment nor dissatisfaction. If her expression were to be summed up in two words, they would be, "Doesn't matter."

Serene was flying high in the air to make sure she led them without a hiccup. There was much to explore out here, so it was easy to get lost, even if you had just come from the place you were now heading. She did her best to fly slowly so those below could keep up, but her success was almost nonexistent. After only a few minutes, Slash was sprinting to keep up, and Leaf was falling further and further behind, struggling just to breathe. Unlike Slash, however, she wasn't going to remain silent about this injustice.

"This is the problem with a fastbiter trying to follow a flying dinosaur: It doesn't work." She finally stopped running and placed her hands on her knees as she panted heavily.

"Slash don't have a problem," Dez replied, looking back from atop his shoulder.

"'Doesn't,' baby bro," Serene corrected as she turned around to let the others catch up. When she had landed, she told everyone that she was sorry for going so fast.

"Don't waste time with an apology," Leaf replied. "Just stop doing it."

"She's just having a harder time because she's so small," Slash informed Dez. "Go easy on her."

Dez had no comment for that. It was all too true. Leaf was far from the normal height of a fastbiter her age. If she were to stand next to one born around the same time, she'd certainly have to crane her neck up to get a good look at the other's face. Slash grew silent in thought until his face lit up.

"I'm full of energy and strong enough," Slash remarked. "I can carry you on my back, Leaf."

"That is not going to happen," Leaf answered in a chilling tone. "If you touch me, I'll kill you. Just give me a moment, and we can move on again."

"Come on, just take the offer!" Dez whined impatiently. "I'm hungry, and the mom could come back at any time."

"Let her rest, Dez; don't rush her. You take your time, Leaf. If she returns, I can always find another meal," Serene told her sweetly. Leaf was going to make another pessimistic comment when she sneezed. Then she did so again. And again. "Oh dear! I shouldn't have had Leaf travel on such a cold day. She's getting sick again." Turning to Slash with a serious look, she told them, "Boys, the nest is just up ahead. Keep going the way we have been without making any more turns, and you can't miss it." With that, Serene began flying back to Leaf.

"Where are you going, big sis?"

"I'm taking Leaf back home. She needs to rest and get warmed up. If it starts to rain, her condition will really worsen."

"You don't have to come with me," Leaf replied before shivering.

"Hush now. If you collapse like you do so often when you grow ill, you'll need someone there to help you. You won't change my mind, Leaf. Let's go."

The authority in her voice was just not fightable. Leaf crossed her arms, grunted, and then turned back, Serene flying just overhead.

"Looks like it's just us, buddy," Slash said as he and Dez continued on for a few more minutes.

"Yep! I wonder how many we'll find. I'm so hungry this morning, I could gobble down three, maybe four, leaf-eater flyers all by myself."

"Dez," Slash replied with a laugh, "you're _always_ hungry enough to eat like that. Besides your sister, food is the love of your life."

"Hee hee," he giggled with a toothy grin. Then his face turned to excitement, and he pointed on ahead to a short tree near a large puddle (or small watering hole) near the foot of a hill. "Oh! Look there! I see the nest."

"Me too, and the mother's back already, bah."

"Should we wait till she flies off again?"

"No, that could take all day." Then he extracted his claws. "We came here for a meal, and we're not leaving until we get one."

"Oh yeah, you go, Slash! But, you really think you can take down a grownup?"

"She's scrawny enough. Still, this will take both of us."

"Eh? But I'm no fighter!"

"Who said anything about you fighting? Now listen closely…"

* * *

><p>"There, there, my little darlings. Eat up. These berries are plump and juicy. Only the best for you," the mother flyer said adoringly to her children. She was pink in color and had friendly eyes. She lowered her beak to her full nest of hatchlings so she could nuzzle them with her love.<p>

Her offspring were hungry and hyper, leaping up and making cooing noises to get at the food. Their mother laughed and plopped one into each of their mouths. GerHGobbling them down, they quickly proceeded to fight over the extra she had in her hands. That was the one she had gotten for herself, but she just smiled. Her children came first. Then she noticed a shadow overhead. She looked up just in time to see a flying sharptooth swoop down and grab one of her young in his claws.

"The nerve!" she squawked, taking flight and chasing after him. "A pipsqueak like that would never get away with something like this in plain sight of me." Dez ducked behind a tree, and the mother smiled. "He thinks he can hide that easily? Yes, he's a stupid one alright."

When she flew down and landed behind the tree, expecting to overpower the child, her throat was immediately torn open by the sharp claws of a sharptooth. She flopped around on the ground as blood spurted into the air for a bit until she lay completely motionless, her eyes still agape.

"You were awesome, Dez!" Slash complimented, inspecting his kill.

"I was, wasn't I? But you were too!"

"This is great. We have all the babies _and_ the mother. This will feed us for the whole day! We'll have to make a few trips, though. We can't carry everyone back at once."

"Oh well. Anything's worth it for food!"

"You love food so much, I'm surprised you haven't made it your mate."

"Aw, come on…"

* * *

><p>"Did I cover you with enough leaves? Are you warm now?" Serene questioned worriedly.<p>

Back in the sharptooth nesting area, on a flat area of dry grass, Leaf was submerged in a large pile of foliage from the trees, save her face. She looked very displeased at her situation.

"I'd reply 'Yes' to both questions, but the discomfort of being buried under filthy greens is a bit distracting."

"You just rest up now, Leaf," Serene told her, patting her forehead. "Call for me if you need anything. I'll be waiting nearby."

"I am thirsty-"

"I'll fill the hollowed-out rock with water right-"

"-But I don't want to have to pee. It takes too long to be covered like this."

"I don't mind fixing up the pile again. What matters is keeping you healthy, and if your body wants water, that is exactly what it should get."

"I said-"

"Let me rephrase that," Serene reiterated, her face increasing in sternness. "If your body wants water, that is exactly what I am going to get it. Wait right here, and I'll be back with plenty. When you have to pee, I'll help you up then cover you again."

"You're confused, Serene."

"And how exactly am I confused, Leaf?"

"You think you're my mother. You're not." The little fastbiter's head turned over on its side, refusing to look at anyone or thing.

Serene was taken aback by that comment but only for a brief moment. She smiled and sighed at the same time.

"I know. I know," she replied softly. "But I'm the closest thing our group has to one, so you all need to get used to it. Slash is the only one of us with any parents left, and it's just his mom. I remember what she was like long ago," she said in deep, wistful thought. "So cheerful, smiling all the time, always trying to help in any way she could. But after Slash's dad died, she just let herself go. It's one of the saddest things I've ever seen. She only gets up once every few days and just to eat. She doesn't really talk anymore, never spends any more time with her son or us. She mostly just stares off into the distance, probably thinking of her lost mate. If she was her old self and would care for us, I don't think I'd be so overprotective of you all. But things are the way they are, and they can't be changed, so we just have to accept them."

"If the water is dirty, I'll only feel worse," was Leaf's reply.

"Tee hee. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she replied with a wing over her mouth. "Now just try and relax. I'll be right back." With that, Serene scooped up a rock with a deep crevice and headed over to the creek.

Leaf lay there under that pile of leaves with her arms crossed. The story of Slash's mother reminded her of her own story, though it no longer saddened her. She just didn't care. She wasn't always like this either. Leaf was once more like Serene, cheerful and positive, but everything changed when he left.

_Two small children sat in a thinly-wooded area, their feet cooling in the soft dirt as Leaf leaned back on a boy happily. There were beautiful flowers all around them, and there was a warm breeze. The elation couldn't get any higher._

"_Hold me close," Leaf requested, cuddling deeper into his lap and looking up into his loving eyes._

_ The boy, who was actually a sharptooth, smiled and obeyed, wrapping his arms around her as snuggly but comfortably as he could. Being such a small fastbiter, this was very easy. The two of them felt almost surreal, as if life simply didn't get this good._

_ "You won't ever leave me, will you?" Leaf asked gently in an adorable voice with big eyes._

_ "No, never," he insisted. "I will always be here for you."_

_ "Hm," she replied cheerfully, more than satisfied with his answer. Then her eyes caught something, and they glowed. "Oh, what a beautiful flower!"_

_ "You really like it?"_

_ "Oh yes!"_

_ He plucked the yellow aspect of nature, placed it on her ear, and said, "Then it's yours. But I know of something even prettier than this flower."_

_ "Really? You must tell me what it is!" she asked eagerly._

_ "It's you."_

_ She giggled and turned red then scooted deeper into his lap. "May I sleep with your family tonight? It's nearly dark. Since we live a long walk away, I don't want this moment to end just yet. I've never been as happy in my whole life than this moment."_

_ "I'll ask my parents right now," he told her. "But don't worry. I'm sure they won't say no; there's no reason to. They've met you and like you just as much as I do."_

_ "Wonderful! A sleepover it is. Oh, and I want to ask you something else…" she trailed off, looking away and turning red again._

_ "You go ahead and ask me anything you want to, Leaf."_

_ "When we grow up, will you be my mate? I'll never love anyone like I do you."_

_ Despite the suddenness, the boy didn't hesitate for a moment._

_ "That would make me the happiest sharptooth in the world. We could never have kids since you're a fastbiter, but you're enough for me."_

_ "So it's decided then? We'll get together and grow old- as a couple?"_

_ "Of course we will."_

_ "Let's make it official, though, just in case," Leaf replied._

_ He lifted his smallest claw high into the air, and she did the same. They wrapped them together tightly, and they spoke in unison._

_ "Claw swear." They both laughed joyously and looked into each other's eyes. But their moment was interrupted._

_ "Son, it's time for bed," the boy's father called, walking up to them._

_ "Oh, can Leaf stay with us tonight?" the boy requested, looking up hopefully._

_ "I don't think that's such a good idea right now," his father replied._

_ "What! Why can't she?" he demanded._

_ "It just isn't a good time," he told his son. "Now tell her good-bye and come along."_

_ Leaf was about to go when the boy called out to his father._

_ "No! She isn't going back tonight. I- I love her, dad! I just promised to be her mate."_

_ The children expected the important news to shock his father or at least make him pause. To their own shock, he acted as if someone was just telling him where a rock was._

_ "She cannot spend the night, and that's final. Come- along," he instructed, and his son knew that there was no arguing with that tone._

_ The boy turned back to the little fastbiter on his lap with an "oh well" sort of tone._

_ "I tried my best, Leaf. I'm sorry. You'd better get going before it gets too cold so you don't get sick again. I'll see you in the morning, I promise. Good night." _

_ She got to her feet to head out, but before she left, he came over and planted a kiss on her cheek. Her eyes widened in delight. That was her first kiss! She blushed, smiled, and kissed him back before speaking up. _

_ "Thank you so much, and don't worry about this. I know you did all you could. Good night. I love you!" she called as she waved, and he waved back, saying the same words to her that she had closed with. Her heart had never felt so alive, and her spirit soared with more hope than ever before._

_ When Leaf awoke, her boyfriend didn't return, and she never saw him again._

"Here's your water," Serene said, carrying the rock in her wings. "Now drink it, all of it."

Leaf's body was covered, and moving would mess up the pile, so Serene came over, helped the fastbiter tilt her head up, and poured the cool liquid down her throat. She did so a little too fast, causing Leaf to sputter a bit.

"Oh! I am so sorry about that," she said quickly, pulling the rock away.

"You want to be a mother but can't handle the simplest of tasks."

"Are you still thirsty? Do you want any more water? I can get as much as you need."

"Choking is not a pastime I enjoy."

Before Serene could reply, Slash and Dez returned with several little flyers in their arms and wings. They had managed to carry all the babies, leaving only the mother, but Dez was just strong enough to carry one of them.

"Nice job!" Serene complimented when she saw them.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Slash muttered.

"I told you his good mood wouldn't last long," Leaf remarked.

"Let's all just sit down and enjoy a nice breakfast," Serene told them. Leaf was clearly about to sit up, but Serene pushed her back down. "Ah ah ah. You need to stay warm as much as possible. I'll feed you."

"If I choke again, it won't be _my_ life that's in danger."

**Chapter End**

"Hiya! I hope you guys are doing great. I know I am! My name is Dez, you know, Serene's little brother. While you're all here, let's talk for a while. I love talking! Just the other day, I- Oh, I probably shouldn't keep you all too long, so I'll just give you a little preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. Hm, let's see now: water, a log, life-threatening danger, and a flower. Sounds interesting, huh? Well, see for yourself!"


	20. The Yellow Flower Returns

**Chapter XIX: The Yellow Flower Returns**

"I have to pee." Lying beneath what Leaf deemed "the filthiest pile of anything anywhere," she expressed her dilemma poignantly. Her face bore neither a look of anger nor depression; she just- looked.

Serene flew up and landed just behind her head and look down sympathetically. "Then that is what you'll do," she replied sweetly, wiping bits of food off of her face as she began shifting the leaves to get the little fastbiter on her feet.

Any pleasure in Leaf's mind was simply nonexistent. She did feel tired and weak, though, as her vulnerability to the cold wasn't insignificant. As soon as the pile was cleared off, Serene took one of her hands and pulled her up.

"This day is only going to get worse," Leaf explained undoubtedly to everyone as she was led away from the boys like a baby, to her dismay, to relieve herself.

"Just tell me when you finish, okay?" Serene asked, flying back from behind the tree.

Leaf looked up and down the tree before deciding that if the stupidity of this situation was a plant as well, it would tower far above it. She got her business done, but she wasn't the only thing pouring around here. She glanced up slowly with no genuine interest as a bolt of sky fire flashed through the air, and the rumbling echoed through the ravine. The impatient sky water began descending to the land below, not even slowly at first, but instead a heavy downpour at the very beginning. None of the kids could really be surprised; they had all noticed the darkness of the sky puffies previously. The wind picked up, swaying the trees, and the quietness of the area slipped away like a thief.

"Leaf, come on!" Serene shouted over the noise of the weather. "We need to get you out of here." There was no reply. "Leaf?" Serene flew back behind the tree where her fastbiter friend was and gasped. Leaf was lying on her side with her arms wrapped around herself shivering violently as her teeth chattered. She coughed several times as Serene hurried over. She had been in much colder weather, but it was quite a shock to switch from warm to freezing and soaked in nearly an instant.

"Hang on now," Serene coaxed as she landed on Leaf's shoulders.

"Carrying me would be a pain for the both of us," she whispered through the involuntary movement of her jaw.

"Hush now," the Serene said gently as she looked up and took to the air with Leaf in her grip. "It's actually a good thing that you're so small. I don't think I could carry a regular-sized fastbiter your age."

The only things Serene heard in response were shivering sounds and moans. She flew as fast as she could, beyond where the boys were still eating, unfazed by the storm, but when they saw her flying to a safer location with Leaf in her grip, they stopped eating, wiped their mouths, and followed from below. Serene was much easier to keep up with while having a passenger, but combined with the slipperiness caused by the sky water, her hold was slowly but surely loosening. She led them all towards a far end of the ravine, passing several grownups that merely cuddled against their children for warmth. As they neared one end, however, Serene's grip finally gave out.

Leaf was probably the only dinosaur who ever lived that could simply cross her arms in silence with merely a mild look of agitation as she fatally plummeted to the ground. The flying sharptooth, however, had no interest in letting harm come to her friends. In an expedient dive, just before Leaf hit the ground with a splat, she managed to catch her by the tail. Her life saved but her dignity brutally murdered, she gave a very tiny yelp of pain as she hung upside down as Serene pressed on to the place she had in mind. All the while, Leaf kept her arms folded in a "whatever" attitude.

"I t-t-told y-you this wou-would be-be a p-p-pain," she whispered.

"Sorry about that!" Serene apologized quickly while keeping her eyes focused ahead. Though she did glance down for a moment as she smiled and added, "And it's no trouble."

"Maybe for you…"

"We're just about there. I can see it right now." Just up ahead, a giant of a tree with dozens of branches filled with large leaves was standing tall in the weather, not even swaying. "We can get shelter under that. It's the driest place I know." Calling down to the boys as she decreased her altitude, she said, "Quick, under the big tree! I need everyone's help." She landed softly on the ground after setting Leaf down. The little fastbiter _still_ had her arms crossed and didn't even bother standing up. "Alright now, everyone lie on top of her."

"Come- again…?" Leaf asked in disbelief, finally ending her continuous blank stare into nothingness with a backwards glance at the flyer.

"All the leaves here are wet now; they can't keep you warm. We, however, can." Turning to the sharptooth, she instructed, "Slash, get the main part of her body. Dez, cover her face but watch her nose so she can breathe. I'll take care of her feet." Everyone quickly but gently got into position to keep their friend warm throughout the storm.

"I am not happy with this," Leaf told everyone, but it was very redundant, as both her face and her tone said the exact same thing.

"How long do we have to stay here?" Dez wanted to know, having positioned himself poorly so already getting a cramp.

"Until the sky water stops. Well, maybe a little after that too. If the bright circle comes out and makes things warmer after the storm, we can get off sooner," Serene answered.

The four friends (though Leaf would dispute the existence of such a word if asked) lay there for several minutes in silence. Serene was justly exhausted, Leaf couldn't find anything else to complain about yet, Dez was trying to ignore his cramp, and Slash noticed all of this so thought it best not to strike up a conversation. They all looked rather silly lying there in a pile like that, but the warmth and comfort could not be denied. The wind whistled through plants and branches, the rain drops pitter pattered against rocks and foliage, and thunder provided the occasionally echo, but together like this, at least three of them found the ambiance to be enjoyable. At least until a bolt of sky fire struck the big tree, setting it ablaze and causing it to start falling over with splintering crackles.

"Move, now!" Slash screamed as they scrambled to their feet. Well, most of them.

Slash, Serene, and Dez hurried to get away from the landing target of the once-great aspect of nature, but Leaf, being too cold and weak to get up, did not budge, nor did the prospect of getting crushed seem to peek her interest in the slightest. Serene quickly tried pulling her away but couldn't get a good enough grip from the water which was now hitting them all again. Slash jerked his hands down, grabbed Leaf by her tail and Serene by a wing, and dragged them out of the way just before the tree smashed onto the ground. A few splinters of wood struck them, but they weren't even enough to cause a scrape, were just mildly annoying.

"Woo hoo! Go, Slash!" Dez called out, cupping his wings over his beak just a few feet in front of them.

"Could you yank my tail any harder?" Leaf asked him coldly.

"Heh heh," Slash replied sheepishly, raising one hand behind his head.

"Thank you, Slash," Serene told him breathlessly, giving him a big hug.

"Don't mention it. It's the job of a friend to look after his own," he said in return. For a few seconds, they just stood there in silence (save Leaf who just continued to lie on the ground) until Serene had a sudden realization.

"Oh! Almost forgot about Leaf! Let's get her under another tree." She scanned the area quickly, having to place a wing over her forehead to keep the water out of her eyes. "Mm, there's a good one," she said at last, looking not far beyond them. "It's in the old creek bed."

The creek that flowed through the sharptooth nesting area split off near the center, and both parts went on far beyond the confines of their home. The dry section of the fork was on a gradual incline that led up to a dead end the kids had all seen before. Due to a damming of rocks that had accumulated over time, no water from the stream reached it anymore, thus why it was dry. Because of the slope it was on, even when it rained, it never got more than a foot high, and only at the place where it split. When the sky water would stop, the small quantity of liquid would simply remain as a puddle until the earth absorbed it. A tree had grown near the edge of the ravine, far from where the water would ever begin to build up.

"Um, big sis?"

"Hm?"

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" Dez exclaimed, jumped up and flapping his wings in frenzy. "We nearly got squashed by a tree, and now you want to hide under another one?"

Serene sighed patiently and smiled. "Sky fire hitting a tree is extremely rare. This is the first time we've seen it in a long time. I'm sure that we won't see it twice in one storm. Now, we need to stop talking and start warming. Leaf can't take much more of this. Slash, would you please…?"

"On it," he replied.

He scooped the tiny fastbiter into his arms without asking, knowing what her general reaction would be anyway, and carried her, followed by Dez and Serene, to the tree growing in the old riverbed. Leaf's expression was as if they were attending the farewell of someone who had died. When she was set down, she expected the irritation of being covered by the others again, but she was saved from any further humiliation. Still, the others would argue that the new scenario was much less preferred.

"Do you guys hear that?" Slash wondered aloud, craning his ears to listen above the roars of the storm.

"Hear what?" Dez asked.

"Water…" he replied slowly.

"Of course we do, silly!" Dez replied. "We're in a storm."

"No, wait," Serene added in a hushed tone, raising her wing for silence. "I hear it too. It sounds- different- than sky water…"

"What could it be?" Slash continued in frustration, having no clue.

Leaf finally got to her feet and squinted far beyond them. She quickly had the answer that everyone wanted though wasn't very helpful in terms of sharing.

"This day hates us," came her monotone voice.

"Come on, Leaf, things aren't that bad," Slash reasoned.

"If it turns out that the dam broke and we're all about to die from the return of the river, will you agree with me?" Leaf asked.

"Uh, I guess so, sure," Slash replied with a shrug.

"Then you agree with me."

Serene quickly flew up and looked in the direction of the dam. Her eyes widened in horror when she noticed the nonexistence thereof, and she screamed, "Get out of there! The water!"

Dez flew up immediately beside his big sister, and Slash grabbed Leaf by her wrist and started scrambling out of there. Serene was terrified when her brain immediately calculated the distance of the water, along with the speed of it compared to her friends. Slash and Leaf would never make it.

"Stop!" she ordered. "Grab onto that tree!"

Slash didn't hesitate and leapt onto it, clutching one of its lowest limbs while still holding onto Leaf. The flowing water smashed into the tree, violently ripping it from its roots as it came crashing down to its side, and it began floating down the river with the two children lying on top.

"Hang on, you two!" Serene called to them as she began following from above, her brother keeping up as best as he could. The adamant winds blew harder, causing the log to teeter back and forth and rise and fall with the waves. Splashes of water pummeled their faces, getting in their noses and making them choke and cough.

"You saw the water coming and didn't say anything?" Slash asked Leaf in disbelief over the near-deafening noise. "Why?"

"We're all going to die someday. Who am I to get in the way of our time?"

Slash grunted but didn't press her any further. What was important right was getting out of this mess- alive.

The creek water continued splashing all over the two of them violently as well as the heavy rain, soaking them to the bone. Add the blowing air, and they knew well enough what it would be like to be encased in a block of ice. It was getting harder and harder to hang on, but Slash managed to keep a good enough grip. Leaf, however, might have, but she was so cold and tired that she lost hers entirely and fell from the log. Not that she cared, though. She went under the water, totally submerged and lost to the fate of nature, but Slash's strong arm would have none of that for more than a second, quickly reaching down and pulling her back up. However, he didn't have the strength left to bring her fully back onto the log with just one hand, and letting go of the other would cause them both to drop.

"Serene, Dez, help me!" he called out them. However, the noise of the weather was too great. They didn't hear him at all. Serene saw Slash was holding her, but from the distance, his grip appeared to be just fine. Focusing on how to save them, she did not see his mouth moving, and Dez was simply following her, believing she'll figure something out.

Serene bit her beak in apprehension. Even if she got them off before they smashed into the end, being soaked in this freezing weather would be fatal to anyone if not stopped soon.

Slash continued to scream, but his voice was carried off be the winds. Both of his arms were in agony. They felt like they were being ripped out of their sockets, and in reality, they slowly but surely were. His breathing intensified as his heart rate sped up to meet the extra demands of his body. Yet, he was not getting enough oxygen to supply it. With the constant splashes of the water, he had to time his breaths to avoid taking any water in and drowning. He began to get dizzy; he was about to pass out.

Leaf felt his grip loosening slightly as well as seeing his eyes close. Did she care, however? Nope.

Dez, on the other hand, finally looked down and saw Slash slipping away in both senses of the word and knocked into his sister. When she turned to him sharply, he pointed down at once. She squawked in terror and dive down at them with her brother on her heels. They each took hold of Leaf in their feet and pulled her up onto the log to safety, but they were just too late. The log jerked to a temporary stop when it struck a narrow space between two boulders in the riverbed, and the flyers barely managed to keep Leaf on. As the current continued to push, the log was steadily squeezing through the gap. Slash, however, no longer conscious and with no grip, had slid off on impact, his face peaceful, into the depths.

Serene and Dez screamed at once when they could take their eyes off of Leaf to have noticed, but they knew they could not fight the river at all. They would be dead if they ever submerged at a time like this. Leaf watched him sink slowly, her expression dull, as his image began to fade. His arms hung up limply while a few tiny bubbles popped up then finally ceased.

Leaf glanced at her wrist. It was still red and warm from the powerful grip Slash had employed to hold her onto the log. It had been so intense that there were even some implants, a big one from his palm and tiny nicks from his claws. Nothing stirred in her brain, however. Still, that did not stop an involuntary action that she didn't understand at all.

She let go of the log, and her friends did not have the strength to supply one hundred percent of her weight under the circumstances. She fell beneath the surface of the water, and Serene and Dez flapped hard above the rocks in stupefied silence. Torturous seconds went by that began crushing every bit of their sanity. They nearly jerked in midair when someone resurfaced. They were relieved and surprised, but their main shock was that instead of Leaf pulling Slash up, somehow, it was _he_ that was holding up an unconscious _her_. The illogic did not matter, though. They swooped down and helped them back on just before the log broke through and continued flowing upwards.

Serene knew something needed to be done. Both of them were blue from the cold and exhausted beyond comprehension. "I'll fly ahead and see what I can do," she told them all. "Dez, keep an eye on them."

The winds started to pick up even more. The trees' branches began snapping off from both sides, and the splashing of the river intensified to the point that very few instances were safe to take in air. Dez began to really struggle to stay in flight, let alone on the same course and speed as the log. He flapped harder and harder, but the gusts finally started to push him back.

"Ah! Stupid wind!" he cried as he started to lose altitude.

"Dez! Try and land on me! If you fall into the river, I can't get you!" Slash called up.

Dez tensed his wings as much as he could and started to near the flowing log. He was just about to land on Slash's shoulder when a sudden gust of wind knocked him back, and he plummeted down toward the water. Slash pushed his body back onto the log while keeping his hold on it and quickly reached his arm out to grab Dez before he submerged. He missed.

Fortunately, Dez clung to one of the remaining branches and held on for dear life.

"No!" Slash screamed. "I'm not losing anyone again. Leaf, can you hang on for just a bit without me?" No answer. She was still out like a light. "Argh!"

He began inching his way back with his legs, one arm holding onto the log however he could and the other keeping a firm grip on Leaf. The water made the surface nightmarishly slippery, but he struggled with every bit of strength that he could muster. He was getting closer, but Dez's strength was nigh gone. Now clutching the branch with only one wing, he fluttered about in the wind like a flower. As his fingers finally lost all connection to the log, he was grabbed by the strong hand of a sharptooth. Still, this was too much. Now Dez, too, was unconscious.

Slash could not believe this was happening. Everything felt so surreal. This was the second most terrifying moment of his life, only beaten by his father's death. This was, though, the _most_ physical pain he had ever endured before. He was about to close his eyes, drifting out again himself, but movement in the sky got his adrenaline going enough to jerk them back open. Serene had returned.

"Don't worry!" she called down to them. "It ends soon."

"So we're safe?" Slash managed to call up.

"Yes," she assured him. "I always come through for my family. I have a vine ready just up ahead. When you get close enough, I'll bring one end to you to have tied on one of the limbs of this log. You can all pull yourselves along it to the shore. There's plenty of time to do it before the collision or the vine just snaps from force; it's extremely long, and it's wrapped around the tree so the slack won't be underwater."

Slash, however, was still worried. Her plan would be almost full proof if his friends were awake and therefore able to move themselves, but she clearly did not realize that. How was he going to get all three of them to safety by his hands alone…?

"Can't you carry Leaf like before?" Slash shouted up as another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky with an almost-immediate auditory accompaniment.

"I'm sorry!" she called down. "You're all too wet. I'm afraid of dropping her." She turned her gaze back ahead of them for a moment then shouted, "Alright, you're all about in range now. I'm going to grab that vine. Hang on." With that, she flew on ahead.

"Like I have a choice," Slash thought to himself.

Serene returned quickly, holding the end of the vine in her mouth. She swooped down just over the log so Slash could grab it. He tried tying it to a limb, but it was hard with his slippery hands that were holding two others. He had to temporarily hang onto them by clutching them between his forearms and torso, and finally, he managed to get a strong knot and began pulling himself across. He had to hold his friends beneath his arms to free his hands, and he had no idea till now that anyone could be this tired.

"Hurry!" Serene called down to him. Every second, the vine's distance between the log and shore increased as the slack was being released, and Slash was barely moving faster than it was being produced. She knew he was trying hard but also that he needed to try harder. The vine was quickly losing slack, and when all was gone, the log would be disconnected again with no time to try once more. At the end of the river lay a wall of rocks. When the impact occurs, the log will be reduced to splinters, and she hoped with all her heart that that would be all that shatters.

Slash's body generously opened up its final reserves of adrenaline to him, and his speed increased. Approaching the shore, all seemed well. There was enough vine left to make it, but all the friction of being dragged around the tree was tearing through it. Just as he reached the very end, just a foot away from dry land, the vine snapped completely. He fell straight down into a murky grave.

Suddenly, an abrupt burst of force from below him shoved them all just barely to the land. Slash had to grab a strong weed to keep from falling back into the water. Serene, back aching from her stunt, still managed to get onto the shore and helped pull them up. When they were finally out of the stream entirely, they were still in grave danger. They were going to freeze to death if they did not found warmth right away.

Serene landed on his shoulder for support, and Slash somehow found the strength to carry all of them to a huge tree nearby with a hollowed-out bottom. All inside, almost entirely protected from the wind and rain, all four of them went limp, and the only noise was that of nature and their worn-out bodies.

_ "He can't be dead!" Slash screamed, his hands scraping at the flesh on top of his head. "My father is the greatest sharptooth of them all. No one can take him down! NO ONE!"_

_ "I'm so sorry," Serene replied, going into tears and resting a wing on his shoulder. "But he's gone, Slash."_

_ Slash's eyes took on a frightening, deathly glare. "Who did this?" he asked breathlessly._

_ "It took several of them, and I'm not sure who they were. I've never seen them around before."_

_ "If you saw them again, would you recognize them?" Slash wanted to know, his voice still chillingly icy._

_ "I think so, why?"_

_ "When I'm older- I'm going to hunt down- every last one of them- and kill them- slowly. When I do it- they still won't experience the pain- I do n-now," he finished, and with that, he began to cry uncontrollably as Serene rocked back and forth while holding him in a warm embrace._

In the late evening, just shortly before the bright circle had vanished completely, Slash's eyes jerked open as his body convulsed every bit of meat he'd consumed earlier. The other three scurried out of the tree trunk to avoid the vomit. He fell onto his knees and hands and continued hacking up his food. It sounded disgusting, and he was clearly in horrible pain. Along with the half-digested morsels were bits of his own blood. Heaving so extensively, he began to sob as well from how horrible he felt. When his body had nothing left to remove, Serene and Dez came to each side of him and hugged him tightly. They sat there in utter silence for minutes.

"So pathetic, Slash," they heard a voice say. Glancing up, they saw Leaf leaning against a tree with her arms folded and head down. She kicked off of her position to stand up straight and added, "No one else puked."

Slash grinned to the flyers' utter bemusement. He got up, wiping off his mouth, walked over to her, and landed a kiss on her tiny cheek. Her eyes widened in shock and anger, and she slapped his face with surprising strength.

"Why would you do something so stupid?" she asked him, aghast.

With a large red mark on his cheek, he explained, "You came in after me when I nearly drowned. Thank you."

Leaf grinded her sharp teeth angrily but still managed a contrived voice when she replied, "Your stupidity is the greatest of all. I just fell in, that's all."

Slash looked away, but his smile did not fade. He knew what had awoken him in the depths. A tiny arm had wrapped itself around his before its owner had fainted from the cold.

Without warning, Leaf bolted away, and fearful for her health, her friends chased after her. She wasn't fast to begin with, but still weary from the earlier ordeal, she may as well have just been walking. It wasn't long at all before she fell to the ground, her body again having been pushed too far. Her vision blurred before she passed out completely.

No one said anything as Slash cradled her in his arms and brought her back to the tree. When they had returned, he placed her in the back of the opening where the least air blew, and the flyers piled on top of her for warmth.

"She looks so peaceful," Dez mused. "How unusual." All three of them chuckled a bit.

Before Slash joined his friends in returning to slumber land, as the long nap they'd just had had barely rested them up, he spied a tiny, yellow flower, came over to it, and plucked it. He smelled it twice, enjoying its fragrant aroma mixed with the aquatic scent in the air, and he was about to set it aside when he found a better place for it. Smiling gently, he returned to their nest for the night and placed it on Leaf's ear. Maybe it was the comfort. Maybe it was the warmth. Maybe it was something else entirely. But just for a moment, as Leaf slept, she smiled.

**Chapter End**

"Hey, guys. You can call me Slash but nothing else. Well, it's finally time that I left to avenge my father. I won't sit around and do nothing anymore as my dreams continue troubling me. When I find the ones responsible, they will suffer- ten times over. I will hunt that filth down until my thirst for blood is satisfied. That is my life's purpose. Next time on Familiar Love, I set out on my journey, and I need to do it alone."


	21. A Journey for Blood

**Chapter XX: A Journey for Blood**

The night circle was shining beautifully, and the twilight was cold. Drops of rain trickled down leaves and splattered in brilliance only to be gobbled up by the earth. Not too far from the sharptooth nesting area in the large, flat plain surrounding it with many trees and other plants, four children sat eating on a soft patch of grass. All of them had woken during the night, and who wouldn't? They had already slept nearly half a day counting their earlier nap. The dew tickled their behinds but provided a chilling comfort to blend with the exquisiteness of their meal. They sat in a circle though one of them reclined much farther away from the others. At last, the smallest of them all plopped onto his back with his wings behind his head and gazed up at the stars.

"You were right, Slash! These flyers did last us all day," Dez remarked before burping silently. "Exclude me."

"'Excuse,' baby bro, 'excuse.'"

Slash wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand, stood up, and dusted himself off. "I'm just glad Serene asked us if we had gotten them all, otherwise, I never would have remembered that we'd left the mom behind. Someone else might have gotten her. It was sure lucky that hunt wasn't very far from where we slept. Thank you," he told the flyer, turning to her.

"Happy to be of help," came the reply from a grinning beak.

Leaf said nothing as she ate her portion. She didn't even bother wiping her face off, leaving bits of flesh on her cheeks and grease on her lips. As usual, nothing was going through that head of hers, no thought, no emotion, no hopes. In fact, her mind was so utterly empty that it was actually a distraction, and she choked slightly on a piece of meat. When Slash looked over at her, she shot him a look that clearly said, "I'm fine. Ask if I am anyway, and you certainly won't be."

Slash just walked in circles for a bit, bored. He was relieved that he had taken the flower out before she'd woken up, otherwise, next time he fell asleep, he might not wake up. Still, he felt more than just those. A tension building in him for a long, long time was calling to him, asking to be set free. He kicked a small rock, but it hurt more than he'd thought, and this set him on edge.

"I can't believe how chilly it was again last night!" Slash fumed. "I thought the sky puffies leaving would have given us some warmth, but nooo. After everything from yesterday, I get to get to enjoy a runny nose." He blatantly and roughly wiped his wet nostrils with his knuckles and turned away from his friends.

"There went his mood again" Dez thought to himself sadly. Then he thought of a way to cheer Slash up. He grinned and almost leapt with excitement of how great of a plan this was. He just knew he was about to see his smile again. "Do you want the rest of my part?" he offered. Who doesn't just love more food?

Slash turned to him so dramatically that Dez flinched before a word came out. "What, are the meals I hunt not good enough for you?" He paused for emphasis. "You'd eat it all if your sister had gotten it."

"I just wanted to help…" Dez replied sadly. He hated failing when he tried so hard.

"By turning your beak up at my hard work! That's REAL helpful. Oh yeah, REAL helpful."

"Slash, please try and control your mood swings," Serene asked him gently, flying up and landed on his shoulder. She nuzzled against his cheek. "You're not being fair here."

"I can't tell them when to come or not come!" he retorted.

"I meant to control what you do-"

"You try and live with a problem like this! Do you think it's fun loving my life one moment then totally despising in the next? I wish I was dead!" He jolted a few steps forward so quickly that the momentum threw Serene off, but she caught the air and hovered a bit, looking at him sadly. "You don't want your meat?" he asked Dez. "Fine!" He grabbed the child's food right out of his wings and shoved it all in his mouth at once. "Habby?" he asked.

But Dez was not happy. Nor was Serene. Nor his throat for that matter. Out of revenge, it activated its gag reflex to fight off the overload, resulting in Slash starting to choke.

Serene rushed behind him and wrapped his wings around his belly, saying, "I'm sorry, Slash, but I won't let you have your wish." With a great thrust, he coughed up the morsel of meat, and it landed on Leaf's lap. She picked it up without looking directly at it then flung it away without a word as she continued to eat.

The sharptooth was breathing hard from the shock, and Serene backed away to give him some space. He glared at everyone around him, but as his breathing slowed, his frown weakened. At last, he heaved a heavy sigh. "Thank you," Slash said softly. "And I'm sorry, everyone. I know what you meant, Serene, it's just, just that- that other side of me just can't back down from an argument."

"Can't- or won't?" Serene asked with a smile.

"Well, let's just say I'll try and work on it."

"Apology directed, Slash," Dez replied quickly.

"'Accepted,' Dez," Serene corrected. Slash inwardly smiled. He had such wonderful friends he could count on. He also had very heavy eyelids.

"Well, guys, I'm beat," he told them, stretching. "I'm going to sleep." Then he turned to the fastbiter. "Leaf, it's a cold night. Are you going be alright?"

"Ha!" Dez cut it. "That all rhymed! Well, sort of."

"You think I can't handle the cold," Leaf replied flatly.

"No, I _know_ you can't handle the cold. You've never gone through a cold time without someone keeping you warm. I'm just worried." There was a silence as Slash stared at her, and she continued eating her food without as much as a sideways glance.

"Worrying makes dinosaurs sick," she said back.

"And no worrying makes dinosaurs dead." He froze, frowned, and glanced up for a moment to replay what he just said in his mind. "Okay, I know that didn't sound right, but I was just trying to make it sound like what you said." Quickly waving his hands back and forth to brush aside everything he'd just said, he concluded, "Anyway, the thing is, I know it's hard to accept, but you can't handle certain things by yourself like most dinosaurs can. You need someone with you to look after you."

"Serene is acting as our mother, and now you're trying to be the dad?" she scoffed before taking another bite of the bone with meat on it she clutched in her hands, still not looking in their direction. "Next, I can be Dez's aunt, and he can be your cousin."

"Leaf, that doesn't make any- Okay, look," Slash continued patiently, "I can never be your father, so I'll never try to be. But I can be your friend, so you can bet I'll try my hardest to be a good one. Let me be there for you."

"Someone told me once that he would always be there for me- and I listened…" The silence that ensued lasted for nearly a minute. "I will never make that mistake again." More silence followed. With that, Leaf got up and lay down on the cold, hard ground away from the others to get some sleep. The others didn't understand and thought she was just being random to give them headaches as they tried to figure her out in vain. It wouldn't surprise them.

"I hope she'll be alright alone all night," Serene said worriedly and loud enough for Leaf to hear. She winked at Slash who winked back. "As for you, Dez, it's nest time."

"But I'm still hungry! Slash ate my food!"

"You- you gave it to me!"

"Yeah, but then you took it!"

"Wha- wait- what!"

Serene smiled and giggled a little. "We still have a while till morning, boys. Let's finish it off with some nice sleep. Key word: nice."

The boys sighed lightly and found a place to sleep. There were some trees around, but Serene nestled in a tall patch of grass, and of course, her brother lay beside her. Slash went in between the two locations where there was also grass, just not so much. Serene kissed her brother on the forehead and bade him good night. The noises of peaceful breathing soon filled the air, and Dez and Leaf were soon unconscious.

Slash got up and quietly crept over to some nearby trees and began plucking as many leaves off as he could. When his arms could carry no more, he went over to the little fastbiter and gently began to cover her up. She stirred slightly, and he froze, but she didn't fully wake, so he finished as quickly as he could. He stood back and looked at her then decided that that wasn't enough. After two more trips to the tree, Leaf seemed warm enough, so he tiptoed to his nest and lay back down to sleep only to find that he could not sleep at all. With only him and Serene awake, he decided to have a chat for a bit.

Slash turned to her with a, "Pst!" She didn't hear him. "PSSSSST!"

Serene yawned sleepily with heavy eyes but got up and came over to him without needing a prior explanation.

"Would you be my mate and make me the happiest sharptooth around?" he whispered to her.

"What!"

"Heh heh, I'm just teasing. I thought I'd play off of Leaf's remark about you being like a mother and me a father."

"Oh, ha ha, whew, you really had me going there," she replied with a wing over her chest. Quickly, however, the playfulness faded from Slash's face.

"Seriously, though, I've been thinking a lot, which has been giving me those nightmares, and well, I'm ready to go. I _need_ to go."

"Go? Go where?" He had her full attention now, and she did not like what she was hearing already.

"Do you remember what I said when you told me about my father?"

"Um, not reeeal… Oh. Oh no. No no no. You can't be serious!" she exclaimed, suddenly recalling. "I thought you were just saying that. You're really going to hunt those guys down?"

"I'm older now- and stronger. They'll pay dearly for taking my dad and ruining my mom. They took everything! I am going to completely destroy them."

"Please stop talking nonsense," Serene instructed sternly.

"Wh- what?"

"You haven't lost everything. Have you forgotten about your friends?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't." Serene paused and stared hard and long at Slash to the point that he shifted uncomfortably. "You've far from lost everything. Can't you just appreciate what you _do_ have and let the past go?"

Slash grew silent and looked out over the vast distance before him. He sat up straight, pulled up his knees, and then wrapped his arms around them. In a quiet voice, he replied, "Some dinosaurs forget about their past; it doesn't affect them at all as they get on with their future." He paused. "But I've made my decision: My future IS my past. The only way for me to step forward is to step back. Only then can I be satisfied. I am going to where that battle took place then I am going to search all over the area until I find them. Now kindly tell me what they look like, and I'll be on my way in the morning."

"I'm not going to tell you a thing," she replied softly.

"You'll have me suffer forever?" he asked, turning sharply to her, voice rising.

"It's too hard to describe kids with words. One description, without unusual features, can lead you to several."

"Then how can I find them?" Serene felt his rage coming on.

"_You_ won't be finding anyone, but _we_ will," she answered with a smug expression.

Slash emitted a sudden noise of irritation from his mouth and frowned. "It's too dangerous. I need to walk my path alone."

"These guys killed your incredible dad! Do you really think you can beat them by yourself?"

Slash stuttered a bit, totally unprepared for that well-founded question. "I- I can at least try!"

"Don't be foolish," Serene scolded, and her face grew even more serious. "Do you really think that your father would care more about your efforts than your life?" Slash froze. "Death is like a child trying to push a big rock. The more who help shove, the less chance there is of it standing right before them."

The words did not take long to sink in, and Slash chuckled gaily. "You are going to be the best mother in all of Ravage Ravine, Serene." She beamed at the compliment. "It's decided then. Tomorrow, we set off, together. Or rather, I'll ask the others."

"I would tell your mother, though, first," she suggested.

At that, his face grew gloomy again, and his tone became very quiet and wistful. "She wouldn't care. You know that."

"Perhaps, but it's the right thing to do."

"And- you will also be the most annoying mother in Ravage Ravine," he added.

Serene stuck her tongue out and giggled.

"Well, Slash, I'm going to sleep, and you may want to do the same. You need all the energy you can get." With that, Serene went back over to her nesting area and curled up beside her brother.

"Yes, mother," he replied in mock sincerity before chuckling.

_"I'm going to kill you!" Slash declared to the large, black threehorn. Standing on a rocky plain before a fierce leafeater, the young sharptooth stood his ground while his friends watched helplessly from the sidelines._

_ He charged the grownup, but he stood his ground and knocked Slash down with his head like the boy was a flower._

_ "Are you friends with those three?" he asked the child sneeringly. He gazed evilly at the others, all of which were too terrified to move._

_ "Leave them out of this!" Slash screamed, leaping at him with sharp claws extracted. "I am your enemy."_

_ "You are indeed my foe," he agreed, batting him away with a quick turn followed by a thrust of his tail. Slash went rolling into a rock. "But what better way to hurt an adversary than to kill those close to him? Your father was only- the beginning…"_

_ The threehorn charged at Leaf who was too petrified to move a muscle and ran his horns right through her chest, and after she hung momentarily, skewered to his face, he jerked his face to the side, sending her flying to the ground where she rolled onto her back, bleeding and dying._

_ "What do you know?" the threehorn marveled. "She's still alive! I'll fix that right now." _

_ He reared up on his hind legs and brought his front ones down right onto Leaf's head._

When Slash awoke, his heart was beating faster than it ever had in his entire life, save his father's death. He was a little embarrassed about what he wanted to do, but he sucked up his pride and got up.

"Psst! Serene!" he whispered.

"Mm? Wha- wha- huuuh? Oh… Is- is something wrong, Slash?" Serene asked him ninety percent asleep but with concern.

"I had another nightmare, and I- I…"

The flying sharptooth smiled warmly at him. "Of course you can." She patted the spot on the side of her that Dez wasn't sleeping on, and Slash crawled in beside her. She leaned against him snuggly, and his fears melted at once.

Completely settled in, he said, "Thank you so much, I-" but her heavy breathing told Slash that she was already back asleep, so he just smiled happily and returned to resting as well.

**The following morning…**

"Who covered me with leaves?" Leaf asked flatly, her voiced serving as the wakeup call for everyone.

Yawning, Slash replied, "I did. Were you warm enough last night?"

"I found a bug crawling on me. You need to check leaves before covering someone with them."

"Good," Slash thought to himself. He knew that that meant she was warm. If she was cold, she surely would have pointed that out.

"Is there any food left?" Dez asked.

"How did I know those would be your first words of the day?" Serene asked, laughing as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "There is a little bit left of that momma flyer. Go ahead and eat the rest."

"Oh boy! Thanks!" he exclaimed, tucking into the meat.

Serene's eyes caught Slash walking in a direction she recognized: back to Ravage Ravine. How her heart ached to go with him, to be there to comfort him and be his strength as he confronted Rime. But that was exactly why she would not go. Slash needed to employ his own strength for this, and his own strength alone.

"What should I say?" Slash wondered as he began the semi-long walk back home. "Aw, what I'm even thinking about it for? It doesn't matter at all what I say! If I go, 'Hey, mom, I'm going to kill myself,' she would reply, 'Don't bother me with such small matters. If you're going to do something, do it, and leave me alone.' I hope Serene was right about me doing this." He moped and worried all the way back to her nesting area, and by this time, he was so nauseous that he just wanted to go back to sleep. But he did not.

She was lying down on her side as usual on a large patch of green grass near the stream making no noise but the sound of her deep breathing. Her pure-white body was very beautiful, even if she had put on a lot of weight from no longer exercising. Her entirety seemed flawless, no scars to be seen, but the ugliest blemishes of all are sometimes out of sight.

"Mom?" he began. When she didn't answer, he got angry, believing her to be ignoring him. Then he realized that she was probably still sleeping. He poked her back a few times, but she didn't stir. He walked around to her face and began at her cheek. She instinctively swatted her hand out and smacked him aside, thinking him to be some sort of pest. He rolled back into a tree with a painful thud. Getting up, he screamed, "MOM!"

Finally, though slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at him blankly. "You woke me up," she said distantly and with a saddening tone. She didn't sound angry, however. She just- said it.

"I'm leaving for a while with my friends," he told her.

"I almost never see you anyway," she replied quietly, though at least she turned her eyes to him. "It wouldn't really make a difference if you left. Why did you wake me for such a small matter?"

Once again, there was just no emotion in her voice. It didn't sound like she didn't care. Worse. It sounded like she didn't care about not caring. Slash turned away. He had a feeling that this would do no good and only succeed in making him angry. His feeling was right.

"I don't know why I even bothered to come here!" he exclaimed.

"Neither do I," she replied before yawning and closing her eyes back up.

He stormed away and started to cry. His tears were a mix of anger, sadness, and disappointment.

Then, just as he was nearly out of hearing range, he heard his mother whisper, "Be safe."

Slash didn't smile, even though it felt like it might be the right thing to do. She was probably already back asleep and just having a dream or something. His negative emotions were just too busy to let any happiness have a turn at coursing through his body. He returned quickly to where he'd left his friends to see Dez finishing the food, Serene bathing in a large, nearby puddle, and Leaf leaning against a tree with her head down and arms folded.

"Everyone, gather around. I have an announcement," Slash told them. As his friends came closer (except Leaf), Serene acted interested even though she knew what this was about. Dez was absolutely intrigued. "It's time that I avenged my father. It will be very dangerous, so whoever doesn't want to come can-"

"Alright!" Dez interrupted. "We get to have an adventure! Count me in." Slash nearly laughed as his heart soared. First Serene wouldn't dream of letting him go alone, and now Dez was so eager to accompany his friend through thick and thin that he couldn't even finish his speech before getting his support.

"I'm with you all the way, Slash," Serene added, just so the others wouldn't feel left out from knowing she already knew about this.

Though no one turned to her to avoid putting her on the spot, everyone was waiting for one final remark.

"I'll just be a burden," Leaf said, not even lifting her head up.

"If anyone else was staying, I'd be fine if you did too, Leaf, but I'm not comfortable letting you remain here alone. The nights are getting cold. You need someone to care for you. Please, come with us. We all want your company."

"We won't find enough food or water and then die."

Slash grinned. Her use of the word "We" was her way of complying. Now with both everyone's attention and compliance, he finished off his announcement.

"Now, this is going to be very dangerous. When we find them, let me do the fighting, and the rest of you hide safely away. If I die, run for it. Or fly, however you tend to travel."

"I'm sure you'll tear those guys to pieces, Slash!" Dez encouraged.

Serene didn't object to his orders as they were, but if he starts losing a fight, there was no way she'd sit on the sidelines and watch helplessly. She was very worried about what this journey would entail, but she was sticking with her friends to the very end. With everything worked out, they set off to where Serene had last seen the ones who killed Slash's father, the female flying sharptooth guiding from the sky.

Slash:

_It is time I set things right._

_ I'll avenge my dad and win the fight!_

_ I just can't tell what's in store for us._

_ Oh, oh oh oh! Nobody can know._

_ This task will not be an easy one._

_ Oh, oh oh oh! Off to search high and low._

Leaf:

_Lots of trouble must await us all-_

_ Not even safe when night does fall._

Dez:

_Oh, yes!_

Serene:

_Ugh, no!_

Slash:

_It does not matter;_

_ I have to go!_

_ Freeeee all hesitation._

Serene:

_I looooove collaboration._

Slash:

_I will make no delegation!_

Dez:

_Ohhhhh the sights that we'll see._

Leaf:

_Whaaaaat a pain this will be._

Dez:

_What fun we'll all have. Yippee!_

All but Leaf:

_No matter what we will find,_

_ We'll do this all together._

Leaf:

_You really think we'll stay a group_

_ Even in the stormiest weather?_

All but Leaf:

_Oh yes!_

Leaf:

_I digress…_

_ I doubt we'll make it through this._

_ It will be our hardest test._

Slash and Dez:

_There is one thing that's certain:_

Serene:

_We'll always do our best!_

Leaf:

_Oh, come on, get real you guys, _

_ And just give your cheers a rest._

Slash:

_As long as we keep up hope,_

Dez:

_If we all refuse to mope,_

Serene:

_We'll see through our endeavor._

Leaf:

_You really think so? Whatever._

**Chapter End**

"Who this is doesn't matter at all, and neither does knowing what will happen next time on Familiar Love. If you don't believe me, I'll just have to prove it to your pathetic minds. Obviously, this is Leaf. See? That doesn't make one shred of difference nor has any importance whatsoever. As for the next chapter, Dez disappears, and some stupid guy bothers me. Didn't I tell you this wouldn't matter? You'll see everything during the very next part, so this was utterly pointless."


	22. Dez, a Flying Sharptooth to Remember

**Chapter XXI: Dez, a Flying Sharptooth to Remember**

The children were resting in a semi-fertile area, a few patches of grass to sit on but only a murky puddle and tree stump besides. Surrounding them was a large plain, allowing the kids' vision limit to rest only in the strength of their eyes. Leaf was standing up leaning on one side of the piece of wood with her arms folded and her head facing down while Slash was sitting against the other with his hands behind his head. Serene was, well, not allowing for comfort at the moment.

"He's been gone an awfully long time…" Serene said worriedly, biting her lower beak as she paced in flight. Slash thought she would wear a hole in the air if it was possible.

"Don't worry so much, Serene," the sharptooth replied. "I'm sure he's fine." In reality, he had no way of knowing, but he also knew what not to say to a concerned big sister. Leaf, on the other hand...

"He's probably dead," she remarked stoically.

Serene came to a screeching halt. "Okay, I'm not waiting here any longer. I know he wanted to find food for us to be helpful, but I shouldn't have let him go off on his own."

"I'll come with you," Slash offered, getting to his feet and dusting his rear off.

"I wouldn't make things any easier," Leaf told them, unmoving.

Slash's hand came to rest on his face as he scratched his cheek with a furrowed brow. He didn't want Leaf to be endangered on top of the worry they already had with Dez. On the other hand... He imagined himself forcing Leaf to come along with them. His mental imagery ended with him lying on the ground near a rock with blood on his head and little x shapes for eyes. "Be careful while you're alone," Slash warned her. "We don't know what this area is like."

"Your memory is horrible," Leaf replied.

"And how is my memory horrible, Leaf?"

"You forgot I stopped being a hatchling long ago."

"I wasn't treating you like a-" Turning to the waiting flyer, he said, "Serene, let's go."

Serene didn't even consider resting on Slash's shoulder for this as they went forward together. She was far too antsy to sit still.

"I feel badly for letting Slash come, even if I am grateful," Serene thought sadly. "He's so tired from stopping and walking back every time Leaf had gotten behind." She recalled it with admiration. When she realized how incredibly silent she'd become, however, she quickly shook her head and exclaimed, "Thank you for coming!" He nodded politely in reply.

As Slash and Serene continued in the direction of little Dez, a pair of eyes was fixated on the fastbiter with delight…

* * *

><p>"What a waste of time. We should be moving more, not spending so much time on these rests. How in the world does a flyer of all things get lost?"<p>

Serene listened patiently like she always did during one of Slash's moods. She made sure sure to throw him some glances to make it evident she was paying attention while not causing an awkward stare.

"And it just figures that the bright circle would be so warm today."

Serene said nothing for a few seconds to ensure he was finished- or at least pausing in between complaints. "Yes. Good thing for Leaf, isn't it?" she replied.

"I suppose. And isn't the ground such an ugly, dull color? How can anyone enjoy traveling here?"

"Tee hee," Serene giggled, putting a wing over her mouth.

"What?"

"Only you could complain about the color of the ground," she answered, continuing to laugh.

"Did you forget about a certain fastbiter named after green food?" he asked dryly.

Serene was about to make another jovail comment to keep the general atmosphere light when...

Slash was the first to see the puddle of blood on the ground. Near the center of it, there was a wing fragment. Needless to say, Serene went berserk.

She fell from the sky, being in too much shock to keep her balance, but Slash caught her. The flying sharptooth trembled violently, but he held her close. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she unsteadily reached for the piece of wing from Slash's clutches. He then turned around so she could no longer see it. She got the uncontrollable sniffles from sobbing and hiccuped a few times. Despite her estrangement, however, she kept wiping her nose to ensure her running beak would not defile her friend's caring arms.

Slash turned his head back to the body part. It was too mangled and blood soaked to truly identify it, unfortunately. "It might not be him," he said at last.

"Y- yes, p-perhaps _hmph_ it isn't…" But Slash could see the horror in her eyes remain intact. He continued to hold the crying, sniffling, hiccuping mess of emotions against his chest. Perhaps Leaf hadn't been so far off the other day. If any moment in Slash's life made him feel fatherly, it was this one.

Serene continued to wipe her nose, but he wanted her to get out everything she felt without distraction. He hold her more tightly so that she couldn't move her wings and without hurting her, and her tears and phlegm ran down his chest. He knelt his head on top of hers, and there they stood for several minutes in silence.

A gentle breeze touched them kindly, but they quickly discovered that it wasn't natural. A large flying sharptooth swooped down, landing before them, and he spoke with a mix of concern yet impatience, like he felt obligated to check on them but really had better things to do.

"You kids lost?" he asked.

Ignoring the question unintentionally, Serene asked frantically, "Have you seen a _hmph_ little flying sharptooth around here? Recently? His body is a dark brown, and he's about half my size. Please, tell me _hmph_ if you know."

He scratched his head for a moment, seemingly in thought. "Are you a relative of the one you're looking for?"

Serene couldn't possibly figure out what that could possibly have to do with anything, and her impatience flared, but she replied, "I'm his sister."

"I see…" he replied, looking away. "So you must be Serene." His voice was grave.

Her eyes widened in shock, and Slash's anger flared at his mysteriousness when his friend needed a direct answer NOW. He stepped forward and grabbed the grownup by the flesh of his chest while still holding Serene in the other.

"Tell us what you know," he demanded in a deathly snarl. "Where- is- he?"

He looked down at the claws on his chest before replying, "Before my meal was over, he screamed over and over for someone called Serene. What a small world this is." Then like a bolt of sky fire, he broke free of Slash's grip and took off as Serene wailed in agony. Slash was no fool. He knew he'd never catch a flying dinosaur in the air, so he tended to the only one present he could get a hold of.

He set Serene in his lap with his arms wrapped around her. She quickly turned and placed her face on his shoulder, crying like she'd never cried before. Fear was detrimental; knowledge was cataclysmic.

"Take as long as you want," Slash said soothingly, trying to be strong, but his voice quivered too, and his hot tears fell on her head. "I'm here. I'm here," he repeated. As the two friends sat together in mourning, Leaf was about to have a problem of her own.

* * *

><p>A rustling in some bushes did not cause Leaf to turn her head. She really didn't care who it was. Emerging from the plant came another fastbiter, a deep orange one with a cheerful disposition.<p>

"Good morning!" he called to her, waving and smiling widely as he approached.

"Do you know what's so good about it?" she asked him without looking in his direction.

He hesitated awkwardly at the unusual question. "Uh, it's- well I don't know, it just is."

"Don't speak nonsense. Making a statement with no evidence is nothing more than a waste of my time."

He put a hand behind his head with a sheepish grin and momentarily closed his eyes. "Heh, you were a lot cuter before you started talking," he replied, walking over to her.

"That's funny. When _you_ started talking, your ugliness remained the same."

The male fastbiter placed a hand on the tree she was leaning on, over her head, and moved his face closer to hers. He then lifted his other hand and swiftly slapped her across the face.

"That's enough of your mouth. Now let's get out of here, the two of us," he instructed.

"Let me guess," Leaf replied, not rubbing her throbbing cheek. "When you want someone to stay away from you, you give them a great, big hug?"

The boy was done talking and grabbed her wrist. However, she neither yelped from the pain nor struggled. He grinned. He enjoyed her lifelessness to a degree. It would make his fun a lot easier. He started to drag her away, and as expected, she did not resist. She did spit on him, though, and that caused him to slap her again.

"I honestly don't want to keep hitting you," he told her with a sigh. "I'd rather save my energy for our 'fun' time in my parents' cave. They went away for some alone time, so it's empty besides me. Heh heh, or us, I should say."

Leaf said nothing, and this only served to irritate him.

"Run out of smart comebacks?" he sneered. She remained silent. His grip on her only tightened, and his claws began to dig into her skin. It hurt, but that wasn't why she glanced down in that direction. There was just something familiar about this grip, this pain. She pondered for a moment, something she'd nearly forgotten how to do.

It was- it was just like when Slash held her wrist so tightly atop that log during the flood. Slash...

Leaf glanced up at her captor, still plugging along back to his home. Fortunately, because she hadn't struggled up to this point, he was completely caught off guard when she slipped her arm from his grip. He turned to her with a furious expression, but it quickly changed to pain when Leaf's foot came up and kicked him between the legs. His hands quickly reached for that tender spot as he fell to his knees.

She ran as fast as she could, but being so small and weak, she didn't make ground nearly fast enough, and the orange fastbiter was quick to recover. He gave chase and abandoned the seclusion of his cave. He pounced on her, pinning her down. She struggled and spit again, but she couldn't budge an inch under his strength. Leaf hated asking for help and therefore refused to do so. Her instincts, however, were a bit stronger than her will, and she was quite surprised at the word that came stumbling from her mouth.

"SLASH!"

He chuckled, thinking his victim was just losing her mind. There was no one around to hear her. He slowly knelt his face closer to hers and gently licked the side of her cheek repeatedly. Leaf's face flushed, and she frowned and closed her eyes in discomfort. This went on for several seconds, and the little fastbiter felt her body getting hotter and tremble.

The boy grinned and said, "There we go. Now you're cute again."

Just then, someone walked up behind them and tapped gently tapped his shoulder, saying, "Excuse me."

When the fastbiter turned, he was punched in the face so hard that he was knocked into the air and landed back quite a distance, sliding to a stop on the hard ground. Wiping the blood oozing from his lip with the back of his hand, he got to his feet, never taking his eyes off his aggressor.

"This can't be your girl," the fastbiter remarked, spitting blood onto the dirt and hoping to avoid a scuffle with someone looking that tough. "You're totally different kinds."

Slash ignored him completely and walked over to Leaf, extending a hand to help her up. When she would not accept it and only looked away with a scowl, he clutched her unscratched wrist and gently pulled her back to her feet. The sharptooth finally noticed the tears that were staining her eyes, and he lifted a claw, wiping the fluid away from one eye then the other. But still, she would not meet his gaze.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" the orange fastbiter screamed, new fire lighting his eyes as his claws clenched.

"Are you alright?" Slash asked her in a very soft tone.

"You're ridiculously slow, Slash. He hit me twice before you arrived," she told him, still looking away.

"Is that so?" he asked as his tone raised from kind to cold, his eyes turning from concern to rage, looking up at the boy. He patted her shoulder two times then approached him slowly.

The boy tried to look tough, but the "Ulp" was very audible.

Slash said nothing, just continued his advance. His target's heart began pounding harder, but he would never run from a fight. His pride depended on it.

"There's no way she's your friend!" he exclaimed, starting to back up. "She's a little brat who can't do anything but be rude!"

Slash's mouth continued to remain closed, and the boy's face grew more pale as his backwards step was hastened.

"She's nothing but an annoying, thoughtless girl that's not even worth living!" With that, he finally turned completely around and bolted into a dead run. However, an instant later, his throat was in a vice. Another moment later, and he was on the ground. He looked up to see a terrifying expression.

"Give me one reason," Slash began in a chilling voice, "why you shouldn't die where you sit."

"I- I don't-"

Suddenly, he was kicked hard enough to roll him several feet.

"That's not an answer," Slash snarled, his sharp teeth clenched tightly.

"Please, don't!" he screamed, lifting a hand into the air over his face. "I'm sorry, I'm so-"

"You're sorry? Well in a moment, you're going to be nothing at all." With that, he raised a powerful arm up, claws extended that glistened in the daylight and were ready to deliver a fatal blow. The fastbiter screamed and closed his eyes. He waited to be struck- but nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see Leaf standing behind Slash with a hand on his raised arm. "Get out of here," Slash warned in a deathly voice.

The fastbiter scooted back frantically on the dirt then managed to get to his feet and ran away as fast as he could. When he was out of sight, Slash looked down at her hand then face, and she quickly pulled it off and looked away with a frown.

"Come on, Leaf. Let's go." This time, there wasn't a complaint to be heard.

When they returned to Serene and the pool of blood, her stream had slowed to a near halt. Slash was about ask her if she was alright then he bit his tongue. Of course she wasn't. She wasn't done crying; she had just run out of tears. He knelt beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him. Leaf leaned up against a nearby rock, lowered her head, and folded her arms.

"I can't believe he's really gone," Serene said, barely a whisper, her voice quivering.

His focus solely on Serene, he said, "If this is too much for you, I'll walk you home, and we can just forget my quest. A broken heart is nothing to travel or be left alone with."

Serene wrapped her arms around his stomach and said, "Thank you, but, you'll stay miserable if you don't go."

"You're more important than a journey that may lead to nothing. Come on. We're going home." But as he turned to go, Serene shot up a wing and grabbed his wrist. "Serene?"

"For a long time, we've been losing you to despair, and I won't lose two of you. I- I can make it. Just- give me a minute, please."

Slash wore a troubled countenance. He was so honored to have a friend like her that would travel with him even after losing a brother, but he worried that something so strenuous would be even more harmful to someone in mourning. He wanted to go forward, and she was ready to follow, but...

"I know that look, Slash," she told him gently. "At ease. I can go on."

Slash managed a weak smile and helped her onto his shoulder. He turned to Leaf, but she got off the rock without needing a word. He tried to press them onward, but he didn't get very far. Nowhere, in fact. Before they had taken a single step together, Serene covered her face with her wings and broke down again.

"I don't blame her. I was far worse when dad died," Slash thought to himself. Patiently, he waited as she consoled herself once more, something that turned out to be a very slow process.

Subtly, a flyer emerged from his perch atop a nearby branch. He landed beside the fastbiter, unseen by Slash and Serene. Leaf noticed him standing next to her but didn't care enough to turn to him.

"Why's Serene crying, Leaf?" the flyer whispered.

"Stupid question," she muttered back. "How should I know?"

"Hm..." he said thoughtfully. "I'd ask her myself, but she sounds so upset. I'm afraid to bother her right now." Leaf said nothing more. She found the entire scenario to be a complete waste of time.

Eventually, Dez grew too bored, and his concern got the better of him. He landed on Slash's shoulder and asked, "Is she hurt?"

A warm, gentle breeze picked up, tingling their bodies on the cool evening. The clouds were moving fast, causing the setting bright circle's intensity to flicker continuously. A few brown plant stalks swayed in harmony, secured by firm roots. Things seemed to be happening everywhere- except from Slash's mouth.

Just before Dez had spoken to him, by an astronomical coincidence, Slash had been imagining to himself what it would be like if Dez just showed up out of nowhere, landed on his shoulder, and casually spoke to him. As a result, the actual reality of this was not processed at all. As for Serene, Dez had spoken so softly that she merely hadn't heard him over her sobs.

Dez flew off of Slash's shoulder and flapped near his sister who was perched on his other. He put his face right in front of hers and asked, "You okay?"

Serene opened her eyes.

**A minute later...**

Dez finally began coming to after being half killed by his sister after almost scaring her to death.

"Mind filling us in on what happened now?" Slash asked him curiously. "We had a pretty good reason to think you were dead."

"Oh! Sure thing!" he replied in recollection.

_"Hey, mister!" Dez called out._

_ "Hm? You need something, kid?" the grownup flyer asked._

_ "I was told I can go off and hunt alone!"_

_ "Uh, that's nice."_

_ "But! Big sis worries so much, she might come looking for me."_

_ "Ah, yeah, that may happen."_

_ "So, I want your help!"_

_ "Kind of, um, not caring here."_

_ "Whatcha doing?"_

_ "I'm hunting as well. Now if you'll excuse me..."_

_ "Wait!" Dez called before the adult flew off. "I saw some young swimmers you can get."_

_ "Let me guess. I take them out, and you and your sister get some because you showed me where they are?"_

_ "Good guess! But nope! They're all yours. I hunt what I can get all by myself, and there's too many together for me. I want you to stick around here and make sure she doesn't come looking for me in case I take too long. Stall her right around here, and I'll tell you where to find the feast of your life."_

_ "And what exactly am I supposed to do to stall her? Hold her down?"_

_ "Nah, Serene wouldn't like that. Tell her you ate me. I see part of a flyer down there, so there's even more of a chance she'll buy it."_

_ "Whatever, kid."_

"I never found anything, but I'm just so clever, aren't I?" Dez asked cheerfully.

**An hour later...**

Dez finally began coming to after narrowly escaping death by his sister after making her quite furious.

"Did someone get the name of that longneck...?" he asked dizzily as his eyes took some time to focus.

Slash and Serene laughed, and he soon joined in too. Then she lunged for him once more, but this time, it was just to hug him tight. She cried once more, but these tears sang a different note than before.

"Want to teach me how to waste time so well? You all do such a nice job," came a familiar, uncharismatic voice.

This only made them laugh harder. Soon, though, Slash did agree in a sense, and he tried to get the group moving again, but a daunting shadow flew overhead. They all looked up to see an aging flying sharptooth, and Dez gulped.

He landed on the ground before them, not too ungracefully, and spoke with a hint of threat and a whole lot of impatience.

"Alright, kid, I held up my end of the bargain. Now personally take me to these swimmers," he instructed. "I couldn't find the place you described."

"Do you like a good sense of humor?" Dez asked with a tense smile.

"That depends on whether or not it comes at my expense," the grownup replied.

"Shoot…"

There was a long, awkward pause.

"There is no family of swimmers, is there?" he asked the boy, his face turning a slight shade of purple.

"Uh- um..."

"Dez!" Serene shouted, glaring angrily at her brother.

"Okay, I admit it! I was joking about that, sorry. I just needed some time on my own. Geez..."

"Wanted, Dez," Serene corrected.

"I apologize for the trouble, sir," Slash told him, stepping forward. "Kids will be kids, heh heh. I hope you haven't gotten too hungry on account of this."

"I have, but that's easily rectified." Slash took a step back. "I don't prefer other sharpteeth, but meat is meat."

"Move it!" Slash screamed as the adult took to the sky again. He knew Leaf couldn't keep up, so as he ran by, he grabbed her and carried her under one of his arms despite her obvious displeasure. As they fled, he couldn't help but think to himself, "This adventure is really trying us... Heh, I wouldn't have it any other way."

**Chapter End**

"I hope with all my heart that you wonderful, dear readers are having a very nice day. Each and every one of you deserves it along with my thanks for staying with the story this long. Oops, I forgot to introduce myself! This is Serene, friend of Slash and Leaf and sister of Dez. It is truly a pleasure to meet you. Now then, allow me the pleasure of telling you what happens next time on Familiar Love. Leaf is taken from us, and I am worried sick! However, she may be better at fending for herself than we thought…"


	23. Crimson Deception

**Chapter XXII: Crimson Deception**

Pure darkness filled the room, and the sounds of restless shifting pervaded the air.

"Good news," Slash began. "We escaped from that grownup."

"B-b-bad n-news," Leaf began. "We're tra-trapped underground." The little fastbiter wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm and stop shivering. It didn't help.

"Nuh uh!" Dez replied. "Me and Serene can fly out."

"Serene and I," Serene corrected.

The four children were all seated, nestled together (much to Leaf's dismay), against a wall. After jumping down a hole to protect themselves, they'd followed it as far as they could, ending at a dead end. It was chilly and moist, so Slash made sure he had his arms around the little fastbiter to help keep her warm. That didn't help either. She would have hit him, but she was shaking too much to summon the strength.

They were safe- for now.

"I disagree," Slash continued. "That flying sharptooth surely hasn't given up on us already. I bet he's still waiting up above in case you two come out, so Leaf's right. We are trapped in here, either until he either flies away or we find another way out." He was certain that agreeing with Leaf would make her feel better. But it didn't make her feel better. At all.

"You're stupid, Slash," Leaf told him.

"And why is that, Leaf?" he asked gently.

"There are obviously no other ways out. More than obviously. The hole to get down here was the only light. If the obviousness of that had teeth, it would bite your head off."

Slash chuckled as usual at the cruelty, but Serene was not amused.

"Can't you ever say things like, 'I think you're mistaken,' or, 'You might be wrong'?" Serene wondered sadly. Being mean all the time wasn't healthy- neither for her nor those she addressed.

"But I feel a breeze behind me," Slash informed them. "That means there has got to be another opening on the other end."

Dez quickly stopped blowing on the back of Slash's head and nervously remained silent.

"Huh. It stopped."

"Listen guys," Serene began in a serious tone, "I don't want to risk all of our lives on a hunch. Let's just wait here for a while. No one wastes too much time on prey, so we'll be safe to leave eventually."

"I second my sister!" Dez exclaimed. Slash shrugged.

"My opinion doesn't matter, so I wouldn't offer it whether I had one or not," Leaf added.

"So, what do we do in the mean time?" Dez asked. "We have GOT to do something. I'm not really in the mood to die."

"Why would we die if we don't do anything while we wait, little brother?"

"Oh, do you even have to ask!?" Dez shouted, leaping up and fluttering his wings frantically. "It's the worst way to go in the whole wide world! I get the shivers just _thinking_ about it. I'd rather drown, or, get eaten, or, get a lecture from big sis, or-"

"Will you be quiet and get to the point!?" Slash growled.

"We would die of BOREDOM! Oh, the horror, the horror!" He shivered with wide-open eyes; the rest of them sighed.

"You idiot! You're wasting our time with stuff that can't happen? Name one dinosaur who ever died of boredom!" Slash demanded.

Dez just walked over and hugged his sister, burying his face in her chest.

"That's enough, Slash. You're scaring him," Serene said kindly but firmly.

"Good. That's what he deserves," and with that, he got up and walked off further into the tunnel.

"Slash, wait! You'll get lost!" Serene called after him.

"That's just your assumption. Now leave me alon- Whoa!"

"Slash!" Serene shouted worriedly. "What happened? Are you alright? Did you fall?" She began flying over in the direction he went.

"I'm perfectly fine," he answered.

"But, you yelped…"

"Only to prove that you worry too much. Now leave- me- alone." He turned his face to the group, his eyes glowing, then walked off.

"Slash…" Serene said sadly, hunching her shoulders.

She didn't get angry at him when he was like this. She knew he couldn't help his sudden mood swings and that suddenly feeling so upset must be miserable. The sharptooth finally returned from the darkness, and Serene and Dez waited in silence for him to vent further.

"I'm sorry. Please excuse my outbursts," he told them with a hand behind his head and face to the ground. "These sudden moods keep getting the best of me. It's so embarrassing."

"Yay!" Dez exclaimed. "Nothing beats Slash when he changes to feeling good."

"Who said I was feeling good!?" he shouted.

"But I thought-"

"Ha ha ha! I so got you. You should have seen your face."

"Ah, Slash!" Dez replied, poking him.

"Well, guys, to avoid Dez's ominous warning of horribly dying of boredom, I say we play a game," Slash announced with much enthusiasm.

"What fun could a game possibly be when we can barely go anywhere?" Leaf pointed out.

"Well, dear Leaf, I think we are all about to find out that very thing," Slash answered, rubbing his hands together. "Just give me a moment here, and I'll see what I think up."

"Oh boy, I can't wait!" Dez replied excitedly.

Slash continued to smile, but inside, he was really struggling to think of a game with nothing to go on. He glanced around for some hints, but all he could find were two some stones and a piece of a stick.

"I really want to come up with a game for us, but luck is really not on my side… Wait, that's it. Luck!" he thought to himself happily. "I hope you guys enjoy this."

"With your mind behind it, I'm sure we will," Serene replied, smiling.

Slash picked up the two stones in one hand and the stick in his other.

"Who wants to be it first?" he asked the others.

"ME!" the little flying sharptooth shouted.

"Alrighty. Close your eyes."

"Okay." He closed them tightly.

"I have two rocks and a stick. Leaf, Serene, and I are each getting one of these objects. All you have to do is pick someone, and you get points depending on what that dinosaur is holding. A stone is one point since they're easier to choose, and the stick is worth three. You will guess someone six times, either the same one over and over again, or you can pick in no pattern. After each guess, we will each exchange our item with someone else, and I will tell you when we're ready for to go again. When all your guesses are over, I'll tally up how many points you have. Each of us will take a turn guessing, and the winner at the end is the one with the most points."

"Um, Slash?" Dez asked.

"Yes?"

"You- are- awesome!"

"Heh heh, thank you." Slash turned red in the darkness. "Are the rest of you okay with this game?"

"It sounds like a wonderful game. I've never played one where luck is solution to winning. This should be interesting," Serene told him.

"Whether I am okay with the game or not, it is clearly going to be played, so don't hold your breath waiting for an answer from me," Leaf replied.

"Okay then. Are we all ready to go?"

"Completely!" Dez exclaimed.

Dez alternated between picking Serene and Slash for all six of his guesses. He was afraid Leaf would say something depressing if he mentioned her. Serene looked worriedly at Leaf, hoping she wouldn't be offended by having not been chosen a single time. Instead, the fastbiter merely had a blank expression. She clearly didn't care not only about not being picked but about playing the game at all.

Serene was it next, and she chose each of them twice to make sure everyone was given as equal attention as possible. Leaf was offered to go next, but she didn't feel like it, so Slash took his turn. He went completely at random about it. He chose Leaf four times and Dez and Serene once. When Leaf was the only one who remained, she finally consented but remained silent for several minutes. Dez started to get antsy and would have yelled, "COME ON AND GO!" if it were anyone but Leaf. But finally, she spoke.

"I have no idea who to pick," she announced, and Dez sighed so loudly he actually fell over; Serene caught him just in time.

"This has nothing to do with thought, Leaf. Just pick the first one who comes to your mind, and go from there," Slash told her.

So she did. Leaf ended up picking Slash- all six times. Slash knew she probably had no reason for that, but he blushed all the same. Everyone revealed what they had, and Slash had one of the stones.

"So, who won, Slash?" Dez wanted to know.

The sharptooth froze. He had been enjoying himself so much that he had completely forgotten to keep track. Not wanting to look like a fool and hoping to cheer someone's dreary mood up, he reached a decision.

"Leaf won."

Her eyes widened for only an instant. No one noticed but Slash who had kept his line of sight on her from the moment he began to say it. He hoped his plan worked, but he knew full well that he'd never know. If Leaf ever felt anything good inside, she certainly never mentioned it.

"Congratulations, Leaf!" Dez called out, patting her on the shoulder.

"Yes, good work," Serene added. "You certainly had luck on your side." (And a caring friend.)

Slash grinned. "Well, I'm sure that guy is gone by now. No one in his right mind would wait this long for food that might not come out. I bet he's off hunting someone else by now."

"That's true," Serene agreed.

"You flyers can look for a vine to get me out," Slash told them.

"Your memory is pathetic," Leaf remarked.

"Oh? And why is that?" Slash asked her.

"You forget to include me in your plan. Then again, it was probably intentional."

"Not at all," he replied. "The hole isn't _too_ deep. If you stand on me, you can reach the top and pull yourself out. I'm pretty heavy for Serene and Dez, and I don't want you straining yourself."

Before she could object, Slash had bent over and stuck his head between her ankles. Standing up straight, she was boosted up, and he walked back to the entrance with Serene and Dez flying close behind. And, as he predicted, she could reach the top and pulled herself out. Then suddenly, all of them heard a noise, like something cutting through the air, and Slash's nerves were sliced in two.

"Could that be-" Before he could finish his thought, Leaf was suddenly lifted off the ground by the talons of a large flying sharptooth. "He actually waited this long!?" he asked in disbelief. "Let her go!" he demanded from the hole, jumping up and down angrily.

Dez and Serene flew out and charged him, but he easily batted them aside. Leaf, however, didn't even bother to struggle.

Safe in the air, the villain called down to them. "As I said, I don't prefer eating other meat eaters, and so I've reached a new decision. I'll let her go alright, provided you all bring me some other food."

"YOU DUMB SON OF A- Do you realize that you'd have found plenty of food if you hadn't been sitting around waiting for us!?" Slash screamed.

"Probably, but I never forget a grudge. I live at the top of the large hill nearby. I'll be waiting." He started to fly away, then stopped and returned to say one more thing. "Bring as much as you can carry before nightfall, or there will be introductions between your little friend and my stomach." This time, he flew away and did not stop or look back.

"Th- this is my fault…" Slash said, shaking. "I thought I was being polite by letting her out first, but I was being stupid! STUPID STUPID STUPID! I should have gone out first to make sure it was safe! ARGH!" He bit down on his arm in rage until Serene flew back down and separated his teeth from his flesh. Then she slapped him.

"Stop that! Leaf will be fine because we are going to get that food, okay? We'll get it, deliver it, and get her back. That is, unless you injure yourself first." A tear slid from Slash's cheek and fell into the tiny bit of blood oozing from his teeth marks.

"You two find a vine as soon as possible," Slash told her quietly with a smile.

"Nah, if Dez and I go all out, we got you! Little bro!"

"On it!"

The two flyers swooped down, each grabbing one of Slash's arms, and flapping with all their might, pulled him up. Dez's strength gave out before he fully emerged, but Slash grabbed onto the edge with his now-free claw and got himself out.

"So what's the plan, Slash?" Serene asked.

"Okay, in order to find food as quickly as possible, we need to split up. This time, though, no talking to strangers," Slash told them. "We'll meet back here, say, when the bright circle is touching the ground but still completely in sight."

"Sounds good, Slash," Serene said to him. "I just hope he treats Leaf alright. If he hurts her one bit, then I'll- I'll- Well, I'll do something to him that is SO not nice, he'll regret it big time!"

"Your sister couldn't be more intimidating than a flower petal if her life depended on it," Slash whispered as he started to head off, and Dez giggled.

xxxxx

A slow breeze swayed the grass on a flat hilltop back and forth as it came and went at random. An old tree stood at the edge of one side with barren limbs and old vines, and a messy nest hung from the tallest, thickest branch. Below, the smell of urine was mixed with the scent of many fragrant flowers, fresh dew, and bits of rotting meat. The only other sights and smells came from the two dinosaurs sitting across from each other near the center, but they made plenty of sounds, too.

"Ugh, do you never have anything positive to say?" the kidnapper complained. "I can't control how cold the weather is, if I hadn't gripped you so tightly you'd have fallen, it's hard to fly right with extra weight, and I just bathed last week! JUST- SHUT- UP!"

"You talk too much."

"GAH!" the flyer exclaimed, grasping at his head. "How do your friends stand you? Eating you here and now would be doing EVERYONE a favor!"

"I don't really feel like getting eaten right now," Leaf explained to him.

"You don't fee- I'm the one in charge here! Do you really think your feelings matter one bit?" Then he thought to himself, "Wait, does that mean she feels like getting eaten other times…?" He shivered.

"What I really think is that you're making too much noise. I'm trying to relax, so keep it down."

"You're my CAPTIVE! I give the orders, and you follow them. And how can you be so relaxed at a time like this!?"

"I _can't_ relax, actually. Like I said, your shouting is too loud."

The flying sharptooth went over to the nearby tree and began banging his head against it.

"Now you're making even more noise."

"AAAAAAAARGH! That does it! How do I get you to shut up?"

"Well, you could always gag my mouth with one of those vines," she replied, pointing to the tree.

"She _wants_ me to gag her mouth…?" he thought with a disturbed expression. "No matter. Anything to keep her quiet." He grabbed one of the vines dangling off a limb and came back to tie up her mouth. Before he got back to her, though, he reached up to scratch one of his wings. Then he stopped altogether to attend to his itch with more force than before, and soon, the irritation was on both of his wings. "What is this!?" he exclaimed.

"You're pretty stupid," she told him. "You've been living up here and never knew those vines were poisonous?"

"You rotten brat! UGH! How long will these rashes last!?" he shouted, scratching like mad then rubbing his back up and down the tree.

"I hope for quite a while, though a certain flower might ease the itchiness."

"Do you see any around here? Ah, I'm dying here!" he screamed from having every bit of his flesh burning in itchy agony.

"Unfortunately, you're not," Leaf told him. "As for the flower, maybe I see it, maybe I don't."

"I promise to let you leave right now and never bother any of you kids again if you just point this flower out to me."

Leaf looked up in thought with a claw over her lips for only a moment before answering, "No, I would much rather watch your suffering than have my freedom."

"You sick, demented child! You can't be serious!"

"Oh, but I can. And I am." Leaf leaned back and supported her weight on the flats of her hands and stared at him. After only a few seconds, though, she yawned and asked, "Can't you scream in different ways? You're boring me now."

At this point, her captor was writhing and flopping all over like a washed-up fish as he tried to tend to all of the itchy spots in vain. He tried to speak the incredulousness in his mind, but the agony was too overwhelming.

"Ugh, now you're just putting me to sleep, and I'm not in the mood for a nap." She stood up, dusted off her rear, then pointed in the distance. The hill top had many clumps of yellow flowers, but only a single bunch of crimson ones were visible. "See that patch of red flowers at the edge over there? Rub those all over your body."

"Thank you!" he wanted to scream, but he couldn't get the words out. All his body could do was rush over and grab the flowers. He grabbed at them maddeningly and slid them all over himself.

Leaf yawned again and began her walk down the hill, but she didn't get too far before crashing into something. Slash, who had been running as fast as he could with an armload of meat, smacked right into her, and they and the food toppled to the ground. He stood up quickly and helped her up as Serene and Dez flew over and hugged her tight.

"Leaf!" Slash exclaimed joyfully. "How did you get away from that guy?"

She would have answered- if she could breathe. But she couldn't breathe, so she didn't answer; her face was quite blue. Though she didn't feel like struggling or trying to tell them of her plight, Slash thankfully noticed.

"Whoa, let up, you guys! You're smothering her."

"Oops, sorry!" Serene said quickly as the two flyers let go.

After Leaf finished gasping for breath with her hands on her knees, she told them what happened then finished with, "It really doesn't matter, though, so this was a complete waste of time."

"Wow, lucky break getting away like that," Slash mused. "And now we get this meat all to ourselves!"

"That makes me wonder, though…" Serene trailed off.

"What is it, big sis?"

"Maybe I just don't know as much about plant cures, but are you sure there's a red flower that helps with rashes? I know there's a _yellow_ one that can, and I even saw a bunch on this hill, but red ones…" she trailed off.

"That guy was a moron," Leaf said in response. Everyone's mouth dropped open.

"Wait a moment," Slash began. "You don't mean…?"

xxxxx

As the bright circle was setting, and darkness began to fall, a tortured, exhausted creature was sprawled out on his side. "Ugh!" thought the flying sharptooth, scratching wildly. His entire body was red, raw, bloody, and smelled like flowers, and he was in hysterics. "I've rubbed these things over myself for ages now! Why haven't they helped yet!?"

**Chapter End**

"Yeah, this is Leaf, whatever. Everything I do is pointless, so I'll just accept my fate as usual by wasting everyone's time with a little preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. So I wake up and all my friends are gone, apparently captured. Personally, I couldn't care any less. Go searching for them? Please. You obviously don't know me if you think I want to save anyone."


	24. Unnecessary Fear

**Chapter XXIII: Unnecessary Fear**

"That is not going to happen," Leaf stated without any doubt.

The four children were traveling together out in the open where little more than thirsty trees and soil could be seen, even with the light of the full moon casting an illumining glow far and wide. Or rather, Slash, Serene, and Dez were traveling together, and Leaf was moving a few feet to the side, shivering.

"But Leaf-" Slash persisted.

"Your immaturity astounds me."

"And just how am I immature, Leaf?"

"Because you simply cannot accept no for an answer."

Slash sighed. "I just don't want you to freeze tonight. The nights are getting colder, and there's no other warmth around."

"I would rather freeze to death than cuddle with a boy as I sleep."

"Oh, then would you like to cuddle up against me?" Serene piped up.

"Let me not think about it: No."

The night air became indirectly visible as it moved some branches back and forth. The kids were passing along hard ground, and the coldness in their feet made stepping on stones all the more painful. Slash had tried to move over and carry Leaf, but that ended up making his face painful, too. They had been trying to find an ideal spot to rest, but Leaf hadn't liked any of the locations so far, and her friends were too sensitive of her to overrule by majority and stick around anyway; the three remained stoic. So far, Slash had offered to sleep beside her at every possible rest spot to make them appealing, as everyone was exhausted, but the offers brought the usual, obstinate response.

"It's alright," Slash thought to himself. "I'll just stay awake until she falls asleep and move in then." He wore a satisfied grin as he walked along.

"You're not as clever as you think," Leaf said to Slash.

"Eh?"

"When we find a good spot, you plan to cuddle when I fall asleep. You did it before, and that look on your face makes it so obvious. If you thought you wouldn't have your way, you wouldn't look so smug."

Rather than fight it, Slash grinned. "Someone's getting to know me, huh? How cute!"

_Clonk!_ As Slash lay on his belly seeing stars spinning over his head with his tongue hanging out and a bump on his head, Leaf threw the broken branch behind her that she'd picked up and continued walking forward, saying. Serene sighed, and her and Dez each grabbed onto Slash's tail with their feet and dragged him along until he came to.

Minutes passed, and while Serene had the energy to press on a little longer, she looked anxiously over at Dez. His flaps were getting slower, and his eyes were barely open. They really needed to stop soon. She looked up, and as luck would have it, she saw something.

"There's a cave just up ahead. We'd be safe there. You like this one, Leaf?" Serene asked anxiously.

"No."

At that point, Dez couldn't take it any longer, and his newfound frustration temporarily overshadowed his fatigue. "Geez! Like, gee gee GEEEEEZ! I am _so_ tired! Just what kind of spots _do_ you like?"

"I don't like any kind of place. Every time you guys ask me that, my answer is always going to be the same, so you should have just picked one long ago instead of repeatedly asking me how I feel about them."

Dez's face became so red that it was redder than the color red itself. His voice was so high-pitched that he sounded like a little girl. "Wha- you mean- you dislike- we could have just- you only meant that-" But before he could stammer any longer, he passed out from exhaustion right on top of Slash's already-unconscious body.

"Leaf, please help me get the boys into this cave. We'll rest here tonight."

"I have nothing better to do."

Dez slept atop Slash's belly, and Serene nestled beneath Slash's head. Her position helped to keep her warm and also helped Slash breathe better during the night by propping him up. Serene, of course, tried to include Leaf in the pile, but she wanted nothing to do with it so needlessly suffered from the chill in the air.

"If you get too cold, just come over, okay?" Serene called over to Leaf, lying down in the back corner of the cave.

"Worrying too much gives you a stomachache and me a headache, so do us all a favor and leave me alone."

Later that night, Leaf opened her eyes suddenly and saw her breath. She wrapped her arms around herself and curled her legs up as she lay on her side. Still, that did not help her uncontrollable shivering. Little noises came from her mouth, and her sharp teeth knocked together. She lay there so very cold, but her lack of humility held her down and would not let her get up. It wasn't long before she started to go numb. Her body just could not handle such temperatures. Finally, she did get herself to stand, though she staggered. She tiptoed to the front of the cave where the light of the stars and moon lit up the whole entrance. Nestled together was- no one. No one at all. Her body tensed. The words of that flying sharptooth echoed in her mind: "How do your friends stand you?"

She collapsed onto her rear and stared down at the ground. Maybe that guy knew what he was talking about. Had her friends finally had enough and left her while she slept?

"I guess I- wouldn't blame them…" she thought to herself.

Then something caught her eye on the ground. She came over and examined it carefully. Looking out in the vast open space, she set off into the night.

xxxxx

"You're going to be sorry!" Slash exclaimed, struggling in vain.

"Sorry for not killing you right away, maybe," the fastbiter replied.

"You just try to kill us right now!" Dez countered.

"Dez! Don't encourage that!" Serene scolded.

Slash was being carried in the arms of a fully-grown, orange, male fastbiter. The flyers were held in separate arms of a green female. The two of them quickly walked side-by-side and kept focused ahead.

"I can't believe this…" Slash thought to himself. He had been having a dream that he was flying high into the sky on a turbulent day only to wake up in the arms of a dinosaur. His captor held his hands, feet, and mouth at bay so that he couldn't do anything.

"Our daughter has just been dying to experience the sensation of killing her own food. It took a while, but we finally found a kid she can handle," the father replied, tightening his grip on Slash.

"Fine, but let them go!" Slash demanded. "They're of no use to you."

"You're absolutely right," the mother responded. "But they can be of great use to you if they go and find help." Slash wore a disconcerted expression for the remainder of the journey.

Dez and Serene flapped with all their might, but they could not escape. Soon, they arrived at another cave, this one near a flowing river that produced an ambient _shhh_ even when deep inside the entrance making it easy to approach without being heard.

The father called in loudly and gaily, "We're home, Darling!"

"Hurry up, set whoever you found down, and let's get this started. My claws are thirsting for blood and flesh! Rawr!" Darling was average height for a fastbiter child, but still shorter than Slash. She had pretty blue eyes and clean, undamaged, pale-green skin. She wore a small vine around her neck with a flower blossoming at the bottom over her chest.

"Aw, that's my adorable Darling!" her mother cooed lovingly. 'You show 'em!"

"Something tells me that there is nothing 'darling' about her," Slash thought flatly.

The kids were dropped onto the floor, and Darling's father stepped back to the mouth of the cave to prevent any chance of escape.

"We aren't going to stand here and let her tear us apart!" Slash exclaimed, getting to his feet.

"That's the idea, dummy!" Darling told him. "I've waited a long time for my first kill, and you have the honor of seeing it firsthand. But it'll also be the last thing you ever see!" She stuck out all of her claws and licked her shiny teeth.

"For someone who has never killed, she certainly does love it," Serene mused to herself.

"You're the one who's done for!" Dez declared. "Slash is the best fighter around. With no experience, you have no chance."

"Don't count your fastbiters before they hatch, kid," Darling's father warned. "We've trained her plenty."

"What happens if I beat her?" Slash wanted to know.

"You're dreaming, boy," Darling's father replied. "But to humor you, if you manage to win, we'll let you go."

"Come on, Slash; you can do this!" Serene coaxed. Then just in her mind, said "You have to..."

"Let's get started," Darling instructed. "I'll beat you- with one hand behind my back." With that, she put her left one behind her and started to approach Slash.

"Now hold on!" Slash exclaimed. "You've never been in a real fight before, and now you want to hold back? I won't allow that. You won't get a fight from me unless you give it all you've got."

Darling smiled. "Don't you worry. I will battle you with my full strength."

"But you just said-"

"I wanted to know what kind of a fighter you are. To not accept a handicap, you must be good. Real good. So don't disappoint me," she told him, pulling her left arm back out.

She dashed at him and slashed at his face with all she had. Slash caught her by the wrist with one hand, and as she struggled to get her arm free, Slash locked eyes with her in a death glare. A chill ran up her spine. This guy was dead serious and clearly even better than she'd guessed. He twisted her arm down, and she was turned then pulled to him by her backside. Then he shoved her with his other hand while letting go. She toppled forward but spun around then bounced back from the wall of the cave.

She kicked out her leg and tried to slice with him with the claws on her foot. Rather than countering it, however, Slash just stepped back, and all of her momentum caused her to lose her balance when she missed. Slash came back in an instant and brought his right claw down on her. She reached both of her arms up to stop him- just he was expecting. He stopped his claw in midair as a distraction then he quickly thrust his other hand forward and cut her stomach, tearing the flesh slightly. She keeled over, clutching her gut, but Slash stepped back instead of using his advantage. He just stood there, casually picking bloody dead skin out from beneath his claws.

"Why didn't you finish it? You could have had me when I was down," she asked, getting to her feet.

"It isn't my style to take advantage of fellow meat-eaters when they're defenseless. Now get ready!" he shouted, charging her again with claws out as she steadied herself.

This time, he slashed at her with both hands at once, but he held back and did so slowly to make sure she'd be able to catch his hands. A look of confusion covered her face at how easy it was to stop him, but her disorientation was what he had hoped for. As she held onto his hands, he thrust his neck forward, head butting her forehead. She staggered back but managed to pick up a medium-sized rock. She threw it at him with all her might, but he simply raised one hand, caught it, let it drop, and then continued to give her his deathly glaze that made her uneasy. Secretly, though, in his brain, Slash was saying, "Ow ow ow ow ow! Why did I catch a _rock_!?" But he just couldn't do or say anything to lower the impressive image he was building.

He suddenly came at her again. He double slashed her again exactly like before, but this time, she moved back. He performed another feint, but she was ready and blocked the second blow. This time, she looked at him with utmost curiosity.

"He's- using the same tactics as before. Is he- trying to teach me?" Darling wondered to herself. When he tried head butting her again just like before, a move she evaded just in time, she seemed to get her answer and paused. "How humiliating! Grrr..."

Slash stepped back with a smirk. Then he lifted his hand to her, raised his claws, and curled and uncurled them a few times as a taunt. "Come on!"

She decided not to charge in this time. She approached him slowly, not taking her eyes off of her target for a moment. They circled around each other, but she couldn't figure out how to get a hit in. Then, finally, she did move her eyes- onto the two flying sharpeeth sitting nearby. She ran to them quickly, and Slash became alarmed.

"Ah!" Serene screamed.

Slash had no time to block Darling's assault. All he could do was jump between his friends and all those slashing claws. He made it just in time, but his side was covered in gashes.

"That's our daughter for you!" her father said proudly. "She's fighting just like we taught her."

Picking himself up, Slash replied, "You taught her to fight dirty with cheap tricks?"

"Winning is all that matters, kid," he answered. "There are no rules in combat except one: don't lose."

"Forget them!" Slash told Darling. "Let me show how to fight fairly. Victory from cheating won't really make you feel good."

Any doubts that Slash had been trying to instruct her were now gone.

"Why would you try teaching me?" she wanted to know. "You were kidnapped by my parents!"

"I just like helping others," he replied, and Darling was taken back. "Now, don't hesitate! I'm coming again!"

He charged her and kneed high towards her stomach, and she looked down to block it with both hands.

"No! Don't ever focus your eyes on one tiny spot!" Slash instructed as he flung his claws forward and stopped them directly in front of her throat. "Relax your eyes; don't focus them so much; see everything I'm doing at once."

He slashed up with one hand and down with another, and she managed to stop both.

"Good!" Slash complimented. "Now it's going to get harder!"

He slashed up to the right with one claw and down to the left with the other, following by his strong foot. Darling managed to deflect both claws attacks, but the foot was too much, and it knocked into her stomach and sent her to the ground.

"I can't block three attacks with two hands!" she exclaimed.

"Hands aren't the only part of the body that can both attack and defend. I'll put both hands behind my back, and now kick me with all your worth!"

Darling didn't hesitate and jumped forward with her leg out, putting out as much force as she could. Slash braced himself with one foot then kept lifting his other leg to stop all of her kicks. He was pushed back slightly, but he did not fall.

"Now, you use your legs too!" he told her. "'Cause I'm coming again!"

This time, he slashed up left then down left then pulled his left arm back for another swipe but feinted and kicked. She brought her leg up just in time to block the kick, but Slash applied so much force that she still fell down.

"Put extra pressure on the foot you aren't using to block! Without strong support, you have no balance."

"Ugh, this is too much to know all at once!" Darling complained.

"No, it isn't. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do all this. Now, I am going to come at you with everything I've got this time. Use what you've learned, and I won't be able to take you down with this assault. Succeed, and I will teach you one last thing."

Darling's parents, Dez, and Serene all leaned forward in apprehension. Slash ran at her more quickly than he had before, and Darling was caught off guard by his speed for only an instant, then she tensed in preparation for what was to come. Slash started with a feint with his left claw, followed by a feint with his right. Then, he pulled a third feint, but tried connecting his fourth swing. She managed to block it while keeping her eyes from focusing too much on one area. Then he kicked her with his right foot, and then his left, feinted with his right claw, feinted with his left foot, then pulled it back and kicked her hard with his left foot. He head butted, but she moved back just early enough.

Darling was tiring, but she successfully blocked every kick with her leg while staying on her feet. Slash kicked with his right foot then his left. Each blow pushed her a little but not much. Finally, Slash stopped.

"Very good, Darling. You have learned everything I've taught well and quickly. As a reward, I will teach you one more thing."

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

In response, Slash ducked down and spun around, hitting her legs with his tail, knocking her off her feet as she fell down hard.

"Always be ready to jump as well. Blocking and dodging isn't always the answer."

Darling started sulking from the ground, but Slash extended his arm to help her up. She hesitated at first, wondering if he was going to attack in some other way, but his deathly glare was gone, so she trusted his offer and took his hand. She turned to her parents with an announcement.

"He beat me fairly; he was just too much, so I guess I need more training. But, teach me more about really fighting and less cheating like going after anyone my opponent is protecting."

Slash and his friends grinned. Serene and Dez jumped up at once and hugged him tightly.

"Way to go, Slash!" Dez cheered. "You done it!"

"You 'did' it, Dez. And yes, thanks to you, Slash, we can go," Serene added happily.

"You keep practicing," Slash told Darling, "and then I want a rematch."

"Oh, you'll get one alright. I promise you!"

Darling looked sheepishly at the sharptooth flyers and put one hand behind her head, but Serene flew up and patted her shoulder, and Dez hugged her ankle; there were no hard feelings. As Slash and the others turned to leave, however, Darling's father continued to get in the way, now joined by her mother. Slash froze, not wanting to believe what seemed to be happening.

"Come on, move it!" Dez told them. "We won, so we can go. You said that yourselves."

Both of the grownups grinned, and the father said, "You've taught my daughter a lot, kid, now let me teach you something: Never trust your enemy."

"You'll make some tasty snacks indeed," the mother added.

With that, the grownups started to grab the children, but Darling stood between them.

"Stop!" she shouted. "It's not right to kill them after your promise. And they're my friends now, too!"

Her parents brushed her aside, but as they grabbed the children, a voice suddenly called from outside the cave, saying, "Anyone inside that ugly cave?"

"Who's there!?" Darling's father demanded.

"I don't really feel like telling you who I am. And even if I did, I still wouldn't."

Slash was about to yell, "No, Leaf, run!" but Darling's father covered his mouth.

"Warn her, and your flying buddies will suffer- a lot." Upon that, Slash remained quiet. Darling's father wasn't sure if the child outside was alone or had grownups with her, so he tried to be cautious.

He crept out of the cave and looked around, but he saw no one at first. With limited hiding places, though, there were certainly no grownups nearby. Then he spied a tail sticking out from behind a tree near the river. He licked his chops and snuck over to her across a pile of leafy branches. At least, he thought it was a pile of leafy branches. As soon as he walked on them, they gave away and he fell into a hole. The ground was soft, but he landed on his head, stunning him for a moment. Leaf recovered the hole with more fallen branches from the nearby trees and waited back behind the tree.

Wondering what became of her mate, Darling's mother, with Dez and Serene still in her hands, walked outside. She spied the tail just like her mate did, and called out for him. She got no answer.

"What did you do to him!?" she demanded, approaching the tail's owner.

Finally, Darling's father came to her senses, and he called up, but he was too late. She fell into the hole as well, and worse, directly on top of him. Before she hit the bottom, her grip loosened on the flying sharpteeth, and they both managed to fly out before she could get a better grip. Leaf came over and looked down at them with a vacant, emotionless expression. The two of them tried getting out, but the walls were too moist; they kept slipping down.

"We'll get out of here, fastbiter!" Darling's father roared. "And when we do-"

Bored of their prattling already, Leaf turned and walked over to the river. She lifted the rock she had placed to stop the flow of the tiny trench she'd dug by dragging a stick from the water to the giant hole she'd found. With the obstruction gone, water began filling it up, and the grownups began screaming for help.

Slash and Darling had come over as well, and she was relieved. The water was pouring in slowly enough to give her new friends time to escape and save her parents in time. Plus, she found it a suitable punishment for them, too, after how they lied to Slash and the others.

"Thank you, Leaf. You saved us all," Slash told her. Dez and Serene showed their thanks with a big hug.

"You're wasting your breath, Slash. I didn't come here to rescue anyone. I was in the mood to cause misery, and those kidnappers of yours just came around at the right time. That's all. And, with hugs being very uncomfortable- get off. Now." Dez and Serene let go obediently.

"For someone so small, you're sure a fast digger," Slash marveled. "And how did you manage to find us, anyway?"

"Oh, the hole was actually _my_ doing," Darling chimed in with a sense of pride. "Well, a little bit. I had some friends over to play in the early morning while my parents were gone, and we wanted to see how big of a pit we could dig. We used a vine held down by a large rock to climb in and out, and the vine is still nearby," she explained, pointing.

"As for finding you guys, it's beyond obvious how I did it. It's so plain as day, clear as water, blatant as a shiny stone in the mud, that explaining is going to be one of the biggest wastes of time in all of dinosaur history: I saw strange footprints last night and followed." Then everyone heard a voice.

"Get us out of here!" Darling's father shouted.

"We promise to let you all go!" Darling's mother added.

To their shock, their daughter replied, "Don't do it, guys. They'd just break their word again and try to get you. I guess that's just what kind of fastbiters they are."

"But, Darling, you can't be serious!" her father lamented. "We're your parents! You wouldn't let us die!"

"Oh, I would," Darling replied, and this shocked everyone. But then she added, "Just kidding. When the others are safely away, I'll lower the vine down to you." Turning to Slash, she told him, "You and your friends had better get going. You won't get away from them like this again. Oh, and be ready for me, because we WILL have a rematch someday."

Slash grinned. "I look forward to it. Well, bye."

"Buh-bye."

With that, the others took their leave and went as far away as they could before they were too tired to go any further. With only a partial night's sleep, they didn't have the energy to travel as far as they wanted. By now, the bright circle was starting to take its place in the sky, and they all plopped down onto the ground to take a much-needed nap. However, Leaf slowly got to her feet to sleep away from the others. Slash smiled, got up, and came over to her. He plopped down and lay on his side, propping his head up with one hand and making circles in the dirt with a claw from his other hand.

"Your memory is horrible," Leaf told him. "I said I don't want you sleeping with me. I said this many-"

Slash took a chance at losing his hand by gently pressing a finger against Leaf's lips; she grew silent; Slash's hand remained intact.

"I just came to talk."

Leaf brushed his hands inside then wiped her mouth as if it were infected. "Be quick; I'm tired."

"You coming all the way out there to save us means a lot. You really do care about us." He smiled victoriously.

Leaf wanted to object, angry that he didn't believe the reasoning she had given for coming out there after them, but her worries about what that sharptooth flyer had said earlier, her friends putting up with her and all that, flashed in her mind again. Finally, she decided on a choice of words.

"You guys- aren't the worst dinosaurs to travel with," she said slowly.

Slash's eyes widened. "Are you- complimenting us?" Leaf lowered her head so her eyes weren't visible to him and bit her lip. "Oh my gosh, you are!" Leaf was now causing her lip to bleed, and her hands started to clench. "You actually said something nice about us! Well, sort of, but woo hoo, it's a great start!" Her claws were about to pierce her palms now. "Does this mean it's okay if I sleep with you?" He said it half-jokingly, sort of in a lighthearted way, but it was clear that it was a genuine question at its core.

Leaf's face shot up. "Don't get the wrong idea in that head of yours, or it'll end up black and blue." Then she paused and looked away. "It just- wouldn't be the best idea to scare you all away. That's- that's all..."

Slash's face grew very serious and he sat up. "Is that what you're worried about, Leaf? You think- we might leave you?"

"I- didn't use those words…" Her face fell again.

Slash knew Leaf well enough to know that that was her way of saying "Yes," and he leaned forward. Lifting her head with a finger from the side of his curled hand, he said, "Leaf, you're wrong. Dez, Serene, and I, we- we all really like you, and we would _never, ever leave you_. So you just relax and keep doing what you always do: being our friend."

Leaf was silent for a long time, but Slash waited patiently. Besides his father's death, what she said next shocked him more than anything else he'd ever heard in his entire life.

"Thanks."

The sharptooth was on his feet in an instant, getting up so quickly that he startled Leaf who looked up at him. He walked over to where Serene and Dez were lying down and made an announcement.

"Hey guys!" he shouted, waving over to them. "The impossible has been made possible! I will never doubt anything again, because if this can happen, anything can! When I thought the world had no more surprises for me, it just showed me the greatest of them all! Get this, get this, get this! Leaf said, 'Thanks'!"

"St-stop it!" Leaf told him, her voice rising and her face turning very red.

"Wow, really!?" Dez asked. "No way!"

"Good for you, Leaf," Serene complimented.

"J- just shut up! Shut up, all of you!" Leaf hissed. Then she wondered to herself, "Why am I getting all emotional like this…?"

Slash walked back over and asked, "Anyway, Leaf, so you're sure I can't sleep with you tonight?"

Before her mouth could say, "Of course not," she recalled her miserable time from the night before and saw no point in repeating it. She really didn't want to go through that again, but there was no way she would ever say, "You may," either.

"If you snore, I- will slice- you open," came her response.

"Oh my!" Slash exclaimed, sounding near tears. "Hey guys! There is no longer anything unbelievable now! If you can think it, it can happen! What was once imagination-only has become real life! Nothing will ever sound unreal again!"

As Slash continued to rant, Leaf walked off a bit and broke off a branch from a nearby, dying tree and came back to him.

Just as Slash was calling over, "Get this, get this, get this! Leaf agreed to let me-" Leaf's branch broke in two, and Slash's noggin gained a large bump. She dragged his unconscious body over to the others and curled up beside him, her back against his chest. Dez came to rest on top of Slash's side, and Serene slept on top of the fastbiter. And that morning, as the children rested with a clear, blue blanket overhead, Leaf didn't feel cold- or awkward.

**Chapter End**

"Good day, my dear reader friends! My hopes are that all is well with each and every one of you. Let me give what you all must be here for: a preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. Soaking in mud is just lovely, and so is sharing. Therefore, I combine the two through a little girl time with Leaf. As for the boys, they go off to do some hunting. However, something happens to them that they tried explaining to me several times later, but I don't think I'll ever understand it. And, honestly, I don't think they ever really did, either…"


End file.
